Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 278 Vaughn's Powerful Surprise Attack

Only the mysterious man's voice remained steady. After a moment of silence, he asked, "How did Joseph François know about this?"

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"As I've told you all before, he sided with Matthew. You should all know Matthew too. He was originally one of Greyback's men, and he survived by kissing Vaughn Weasley's shoes. Many people speculate that Weasley subdued him in order to use him to counterbalance Remus Lupin. So, he can be considered one of Weasley's protégés."

The mysterious man fell silent.

Just as John Mills had predicted, the news was bad.

The werewolves' obvious transformation under the full moon is the main reason for the identity discrepancy between them and wizards.

Once news spreads that the new version of the Wolfsbane Potion can suppress transformation, the werewolves will be greatly encouraged and their previous confusion will be swept away.

Currently, in terms of public opinion, apart from some conservative extremists, other conservative wizards who are swept up in emotions and temporarily lose their ability to make rational judgments, neutrals who are confused by the situation, and progressives who originally supported werewolves but lost their moral protection due to the North American werewolf parade and had to suppress their voices, will probably all backfire as a result.

Ultimately, the silent majority does not want conflict to actually occur.

If there is a solution, everyone would prefer to resolve the issue peacefully. This can be seen as a politically correct trend that has emerged in the English wizarding world during the more than ten years of peace following Voldemort's chaos.

The air was somewhat oppressive. On the other side of the cabinet, the mysterious man remained silent. In the dense darkness, John Mill could sense subtle disturbances caused by magic.

The "big spenders" were probably discussing something using magic, and judging from the frequency they sensed, their conversation was not very peaceful.

After a long while, John Mill finally heard the mysterious man's voice again: "Who else knows about this? I'm talking about those henchmen you've recruited."

Upon hearing this, John Milton breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "I didn't tell anyone. I came to you all immediately to seek your guidance."

"Well done, Mr. Mir. The intelligence you brought is very valuable. Otherwise, once the new version of the wolfsbane medicine is announced, our plans over the past few days will probably be in vain."

The mysterious man praised, then paused, before changing the subject: "Mr. Mill, can we trust you?"

John Mill replied without hesitation: "Of course I could. If I had any ulterior motives, I wouldn't be standing here now; I would have already run away. Gentlemen, I admit I may have been a little greedy, but that's precisely why I'm unwilling to abandon your plans."

'

3

Subtle magical fluctuations appeared several more times, followed by the mysterious man's increasingly deep voice: "Very good, Mr. Mill. If we require you to activate it immediately tonight, can you do so?"

John Mill's mind raced.

He was not surprised by the result, just as he was unwilling to accept the failure of his more than a month of planning and to slink away from England.

Those who are eyeing even bigger investments are definitely even more unwilling to give up.

Before coming, he had already thought it through. At this moment, he quickly replied, "I can do it, but you all need to meet the requirements I put forward. This is not for myself, but for those werewolves I have won over who are willing to cooperate with us."

"I need enough to make them lose their minds and take risks to sway them. You need to prepare a lot of money and real, undeniable promises, and you need to see them immediately. Otherwise, empty words will only delay the opportunity."

He stated his request very directly, and the mysterious man was equally unambiguous: "Whatever your request, just say it!"

Hearing this, John Mill finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that these guys would hesitate and back down when it came down to it, and if that happened, he wouldn't have the ability to realize his ideas.

As long as you agree, there's still a chance to salvage the situation.

John Mill, who had already prepared his speech on the way here, was about to present the conditions he had listed based on his subordinates' understanding.

A distant commotion echoed faintly from above, resounding from underground.

He was startled and instinctively looked to his side.

In the pitch-black darkness, Mr. Bokin, who had remained silent as if he didn't exist, coughed lightly: "It seems those dark wizards whose brains are fed with Flobber worms are fighting again. Guests, I'll go up and take a look."

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Bokin."

Mr. Bokin went upstairs quickly.

John Mill didn't know what the "patrons" were like, but he kept an eye on Mr. Boggin's footsteps. Even in the darkness, he raised his head, listened to the faltering sounds above him, and slowly moved across the floor toward the door.

The atmosphere in the dark basement grew increasingly oppressive.

John Mill breathed a slight sigh of relief only when he heard the scraping sound of old door hinges overhead, along with Mr. Borkin's dry cough and cursing.

A gust of air blew by, and his body felt damp and cold. He was surprised to find that he was covered in a cold sweat.

Ha, the usual conflicts in Knockturn Alley actually scared me so much I broke out in a sweat. Looks like I wasn't as fearless as I thought I was—

Just as he was secretly mocking himself, John Mill suddenly realized something and his body stiffened abruptly. Why was there wind in the basement?

Frankly, John Mill was a true warrior.

His life as a werewolf, though it destroyed his life, also thoroughly tempered him.

When he realized that there was wind in the basement, a chill ran through his body, and he drew his wand almost instantly.

Why is there wind?

Where does the wind blow from?

John Mill's eyes darted around, but all he could see was darkness. The darkness that he had previously thought was insignificant now felt like the gaping maw of an invisible beast, sending shivers down his spine!

He couldn't help but glance at the other group of wealthy patrons, who were whispering amongst themselves.

Did they discover it too?

John Mill took a deep breath, strained his ears, and then he heard those aloof, mysterious men, completely oblivious to anything amiss, say: "Shouldn't we leave first?"

"Huh? You're that afraid of Vaughn Weasley? If you're such a coward, why did you join us?"

'

"Who's the coward? I'm just—I'm just worried that what's coming from outside might be an Auror, given the recent crackdown on dark magic items—"

"Forget it. You've been to the Auror's office before, how could you not know that the Aurors never come here? It's an unspoken agreement between dark wizards and the Ministry of Magic—giving them a place to stay in exchange for them not causing trouble."

"Yes, I know that. In Muggle terms—appeasement!"

What a bunch of idiots! They don't even know the enemy is coming!

John Mill cursed under his breath. He couldn't hold back any longer. He didn't know where the enemy was, or if the enemy's wand was already aimed at him in the seemingly endless darkness before him.

A pervasive sense of crisis made John Mill feel as if he were naked and exposed to the elements, and he chanted a spell:

"Lumo olem"

In the spell system, Mim represents maximum effect, maximizing the spell's effect without altering its functionality. Olem, on the other hand, represents strong effect, temporarily enhancing a particular characteristic of the spell to modify its function and application scenarios; it belongs to spell variants and extended casting.

Like this moment.

As the incantation was uttered, a dim light appeared at the tip of John Mill's wand, and then the dim light suddenly "exploded".

literal meaning.

It exploded like a Muggle flashbang, the dazzling, intense light illuminating the entire basement as bright as day in an instant.

It went out in an instant.

A sudden burst of bright light followed by darkness can effectively disrupt a person's vision, and this effect is achieved simply by a glow spell.

This is an almost instinctive fighting strategy that John Milne honed over more than a decade in the destabilized and brutal Yukon Valley, on Indigenous reservations.

The moment he uttered the incantation, he had already covered his eyes with one hand, his skillful transformation magic altering the texture of the air around his fingers so that it could filter light.

This avoids indiscriminate flashes that could harm oneself, while also preventing complete loss of vision and wasting the opportunity to observe the enemy provided by the flash.

John Mill remained calm. Using the flash of light, he quickly retreated to create distance and took advantage of the opportunity to survey his surroundings.

The first things that catch the eye are naturally the "big spenders".

As he expected, those arrogant fools were dressed in hooded robes, sneaking around and hiding their true intentions.

However, they were not entirely useless. Although the sudden flash of light caught them off guard, they quickly raised their wands.

As the light was about to go out, John Mill saw them waving their wands and chanting spells.

Realizing his backers weren't entirely incompetent, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. In the last glimmer of light, he finally caught sight of the "enemy" out of the corner of his eye—

To be precise, it was the enemy's magic!

There was only a cabinet in the corner of the empty basement, and at some point, a strange sphere appeared there.

It stood there silently, as if it had existed for a very long time.

The moment John Mill saw it, he felt his heart leap out of his chest. The flash went out, and darkness returned, but it was no longer tranquil.

My heart was pounding rapidly in my chest, like a drumbeat.

John Mill's mind went blank; only the image of that strange sphere remained before his eyes and surfaced in his mind—he knew it all too well.

The Gate of Dimensions!

Vaughn Weasley's signature magic is said to have been developed in North America, where he had traveled and knew its characteristics, namely, opening a passage between the two places.

Good news, we've found out where the wind is coming from in the basement.

The bad news is that, so far, he hasn't seen anyone else learn this magic.

so----

"Weasley!"

John Mill roared, his wand flashing as he cast a powerful glow spell, sending a dim orb of light flying like a meteor toward the strange sphere.

The next instant, a violent burst of light erupted!

His shouts, along with the burst of powerful fluorescent spells, immediately attracted the attention of the wealthy patrons, while he himself—

Of course, we should seize the opportunity to turn around and run!

While running, he didn't forget to wave his wand and cast the Ironclad Charm to protect himself firmly.

John Mill admits that he is not as brave and fearless as he thought, believing that his past hardships have made him unafraid of Weasley.

But now that I think about it, the reason I had this idea might be because Weasley went to Hogwarts and hasn't appeared in front of them for a while.

Upon seeing the opponent's signature magic, the first thing that came to his mind was the scene in the Alabacia Mountains where the opponent single-handedly "dissolved" hundreds of Congress Aurors into bloody figures.

It's incomprehensible, let alone a way to retaliate.

It seems I did get arrogant before, but thankfully, I've come to my senses now.

We can't afford to mess with them.

Goodbye!

He ran quickly to the entrance stairs to the basement. When Mr. Bokin went up earlier, he hadn't locked the trapdoor, and the candlelight shone down from the half-open gap in the trapdoor.

It wasn't very bright, but in John Mill's eyes, it was like light from heaven.

He sprinted up the stairs, the trapdoor just inches away.

Then, amidst the chaotic chanting and the whooshing sound of spells cutting through the air behind him, he heard a familiar voice softly chanting: "John, fly here!"

A summoning spell?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when John Mill felt a sudden weightlessness beneath his feet, and he was lifted into the air, his entire body like a folded sponge, flying uncontrollably backward.

He panicked for a moment, but quickly recovered and hurriedly cast a counter-spell to intercept the attack.

But the incoming spell from behind was more powerful than he had imagined. It took three interception spells to dissipate the magic that forced him to fly backward.

John Mill fell heavily to the ground.

Having broken free from control, the feeling of returning to the ground was reassuring, but John Mill was anything but happy.

Because he heard that familiar voice coming from above: "We meet again, beloved John."

As those words, which sounded like casual greetings exchanged during a chance encounter on the street, were exchanged, a powerful repulsive force slammed John Mill's struggling body back to the ground.

He managed to lift his head.

The basement that came into his view had been transformed into a battlefield, with the light of spells flashing back and forth. On one side were the "big spenders," these guys with their faces hidden in their hoods, frantically unleashing spells: the orange tongues of fire spells, the invisible blast waves of the Big Bang spells, the scarlet colors of the Disarming and Stunning spells—the light crisscrossed and became chaotic in the not-so-wide space.

But John Mill saw that they were actually at a disadvantage.

Right beside him, in the place where that familiar voice came from, a thick, mysteriously patterned armor spell, similar to but completely different from a normal armor spell, enveloped a boy who wasn't very tall.

Each spell landed on it, but only created a ripple on the strange armored spell. With a flick of the boy's wand, the spells either bounced off or flew away.

The walls, floors, and even the ceiling were completely unrecognizable, covered with scorch marks from flames, craters from the explosion, and scorch marks left by various flying spells.

In the shimmering, intermingling light and shadow, John Mill couldn't actually make out the boy's face, but he wouldn't mistake him:

Vaughn Weasley!

That fiery red hair, dancing wildly in the turbulent airflow of the basement, was simply too conspicuous.

John Mill's eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

Although he had previously mocked the patrons as fools, it was only to satirize their long-term pampered lifestyle and lack of sensitivity to combat, not to belittle their magic.

No matter how bad they are, these big spenders still come from wealthy families. They have plenty of money to use potions, rituals, and so on to maintain their bodies. They might even have some secret magic to enhance their magic power, not to mention the alchemical items that are external objects.

But what he was seeing now was Vaughn Weasley single-handedly overwhelming all five of them and gaining the upper hand.

What shocked him most was that while defending against the five wizards, Weasley silently cast a spell with his other hand, binding himself firmly to the ground and making him unable to move!

Memories of the Alabacia Mountains from more than two months ago resurfaced in my mind.

John Mill felt his body tremble again; before it was from stress, but this time, he knew it was from fear.

The "big spenders" on the other side were even more shocked and bewildered than John Mill.

Just moments before, everyone was discussing whether John Mill's claims were credible, whether they should ask the other werewolves they had bribed, and what preparations they should make if Vaughn Weasley really had discovered something and the plan was to be launched ahead of schedule.

As a result, John Mill suddenly emitted a bright light and roared "Weasley," nearly scaring the gentlemen to death.

I wasn't mentally prepared at all.

Of course, once they saw Vaughn Weasley actually appear thanks to his powerful glow spell, the men no longer cared about whether they needed to pee or not.

It's a matter of life and death!

Last year and in the first half of this year, Secretary Connelly Fudge generously sacrificed himself, making it clear to everyone what kind of person Vaughn Weasley was.

Strong-willed, intolerant of any dissent!

As Minister of Magic, Fudge, who had sufficient legal legitimacy, tried to seize C's power, but was repeatedly thwarted by the other party without hesitation, leaving him humiliated on several occasions.

So, these people, having neither public power nor legitimacy, are secretly plotting C.

Now that Vaughn Weasley has found out, what will he do to them?

No need to even think about it!

After a brief moment of surprise, the five old wizards almost instantly raised their wands and launched an attack.

But as soon as they started, their eyelids started twitching—

Anyone who discovers that the spell cast by their five wizards has been effortlessly blocked by a single enemy will show the expression on their face.

Shock, and fear.

Of the five, only "Mr. Mystery" wasn't too surprised. He had always valued Vaughn Weasley, and he had previously felt that their plans with John Mill were going too smoothly. However, at the time, everyone said he was overthinking things, and he himself didn't stick to his opinion.

Ah!

A disarming spell was cast, and the red light traversed more than ten feet in the blink of an eye. But in front of that terrifying little red-haired wizard, such a swift spell seemed like the faltering steps of an old man. The other party simply flicked away a stun spell with his wand.

The red light struck the tip of the wand "just in time," and was pulled and dragged away by the wand, then launched into the air.

The mysterious man gave a wry smile.

"Everyone, let's retreat!" He said, his throat bobbing. The short-range "communication network" he had set up with the whispering spell when the five of them were discussing earlier had not been cut off. Even though the basement was in chaos, his soft voice still reached the ears of the others.

The other four exchanged glances, somewhat hesitant.

The next second, a fire spell was deflected back by Vaughn Weasley, and the blazing fireball instantly struck the wizard who had cast it. The wizard was momentarily distracted and was nearly engulfed by the raging flames.

Thanks to another wizard next to him, who activated his armor spell in time to shield him from the attack.

This unexpected event made the other four people clearly feel the increasing pressure—the gap in magic is difficult to bridge, and Vaughn Weasley can now block their attacks. Even after dozens of seconds, they still haven't broken through his Ironclad Charm.

Therefore, as time goes on, this gap will only widen, not improve.

Because the opponent's magic is stronger than theirs, he can try and make mistakes multiple times. It's different for them. If they make a mistake even once, they are likely to be overwhelmed by the rebounding spells!

"Okay, how do I do it?"

A person asked in the communication network.

Other voices also rang out: "Mr. Borgin has an anti-Apparition Charm here. You can only escape the store area if you want to, or use the Vanishing Cabinet."

"How do we escape? The Vanishing Cabinet needs time to activate. Vaughn Weasley is putting too much pressure on us. Damn, is he really only 12 years old? Many veteran Aurors I've met aren't as strong as him!"

Hearing the complaints coming from the communications network, the mysterious Mr. Mystery, who was very familiar with Vaughn Weasley, smiled wryly again.

To be honest, he didn't expect Weasley to be this strong!

Just then, the mysterious man heard a commotion upstairs and a loud crash!

That was the sound of shattering glass, mixed with Mr. Borgin's curses and roars, and the booming sound of incantations hitting something.

The mysterious man understood.

Above the basement, there was probably another group of men that Weasley had prepared. They had arranged it this way to completely trap them in the basement and capture them alive!

From this perspective, it all seems like a setup.

John Mill, that fool, had probably been exposed long ago, but Weasley didn't reel him in immediately. Instead, he kept him hooked, letting him connect with them.

What exactly is Weasley trying to do?

The mysterious Mr. couldn't guess, nor did he have time to guess.

All he knew was that whatever Weasley's plans were, his current objective was to capture John Mill and the other five men.

Therefore, if they want to save themselves, they cannot do as the other party wishes.

After pondering for a moment, Mr. Mystery quickly summarized his judgment in the "communication network," then decisively stated, "Forget about the Vanishing Cabinet. That thing is connected to my house, and it's unsafe to use it in front of Weasley. Our only option is to find a way to escape the basement, Apparate, and split up!"

The other four immediately agreed with his decision.

But the problem is—

The group all turned to look at Vaughn Weasley in the corner of the room. His armor was incredibly thick, and his wand defense skills were superb. If it weren't for their relentless attacks, interspersed with various spells that could penetrate the armor, forcing him to defend, the situation would have been much worse.

It might already be damaged by hand!