Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 287 The Great and Noble Vaughn Weasley

"How did he do that?" she murmured.

"The key idea is in this paper."

Upon hearing this, Furong immediately picked up the magazine, ready to take a look.

but----

She doesn't understand!

The first English sentence that caught her eye was arranged in a way that she couldn't understand at all:

Before proceeding with the following content, please master the fundamentals of calculus, linear algebra, and topology. If you have already mastered these, please continue to delve deeper into non-Euclidean geometry and try to learn the thought process of abstract algebra.

'

Hibiscus looked helplessly at Ms. Maxim.

Maxim smiled helplessly: "You don't understand, do you?"

"Um----"

"I don't understand it either, and that's the problem. Although England and France are two countries, our magic and knowledge have developed from the same system. Normally, it's impossible for an English wizard to explain his thought process in developing spells when we can't understand a single word."

"Unless—he applied a completely different system, one beyond our comprehension, and incorporated it into the magic string!"

To integrate a completely new system into the knowledge system of magic.

What exactly does this mean? Furong, who just started fifth grade this year, doesn't have a clear understanding yet, but she vaguely understands that it must be something amazing.

Because the woman in front of her, Ms. Maxim, had large, dark, and watery eyes that were so bright they almost seemed to glow.

His olive-colored face flushed, and he looked excited.

In Fu Rong's memory, Maxim was always calm and composed, no matter what the situation was. There should be nothing or no one that could make this "Queen of Beauxbatons" lose her composure.

But now————

"We must master this technology, Fleur." Looking at the floating specks of light, Madam Maxim's voice was low and serious: "The spells developed by Vaughn Weasley, the methods and knowledge he used in developing them—these are revolutionary achievements. I absolutely cannot allow Beauxbatons to fall behind other magic schools, do you understand?"

"----Um!"

Although she didn't understand yet, Fu Rong, who had already realized the importance of the problem, nodded emphatically.

However, she still had some doubts: "If Weasley's method is so powerful, why did he reveal it?"

Normally, shouldn't the fewer people who know this kind of knowledge, the better?

Upon hearing this, Maxim's expression became somewhat complicated: "I asked Dumbledore the same question the day he sent me the magazine."

"What did he say?"

"He said—this was Weasley's decision. The so-called potion exchange was actually intended to promote his system and methods. Rather than hiding it and keeping it as his trump card, Vaughn Weasley wanted this knowledge to spread, take root, and bear different fruits."

"————"

Upon hearing these words, for some reason, Furong suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

She didn't understand what kind of thinking or awareness led 12-year-old Vaughn Weasley to say such a resounding statement.

All she knew was that her inner complaints and resentment suddenly vanished at that moment.

Noticing the change in her expression, Maxim sighed: "From this, you can see that Weasley is a man of great vision. I went against your wishes to get Beauxbatons involved in the Potions Exchange Program and even sent you to lead the team, just so you could see that kid in person, see what's different about him, see his strengths, and learn from him."

If it were ten minutes ago, Fleur would most likely have resentfully scoffed at the suggestion to learn from Vaughn Weasley.

But now, she no longer has that thought.

Of course, Maxim wasn't just encouraging him; she also warned, "Studying is one thing, but when it comes to Vaughn Weasley, you must be vigilant and carefully gauge the extent of your contact."

"Why?" Furong asked, puzzled.

"Because of his ambition."

As Maxim spoke, he beckoned to another newspaper, today's English edition of the Daily Prophet, which contained reports on Vaughn's release of the list, which sparked numerous pure-blood, wizarding families, and social elites both on and off the list.

However, Furong didn't find it anything new; almost every newspaper lately had been talking about it, including the French edition.

Even Fleur's recent dissatisfaction with Vaughn Weasley stemmed from reading too many reports about him and developing a certain contempt for him.

As chairman of the C Executive Committee, Weasley failed to fulfill his duties and oversight effectively, leading to the current chaos.

These are the views held by some people in the French edition of Le Prophet in recent days.

Furong was also a supporter of this viewpoint.

Maxim knew what Fleur thought, and she shook her head, pointing out, "Do you really think the current situation is due to his negligence? Are you truly unaware of the mastermind behind it all?"

"?"

Furong was taken aback.

Looking at the girl's bewildered expression, Maxim patiently said, "Let's assume he really didn't know. Look at this paragraph where the reporter analyzes the situation. Before Weasley led C to eliminate the rebels, the conflict between English wizards and werewolves had already escalated to a certain extent."

"You could say it was a powder keg. Perhaps just one or two days later, if John Mill had uttered a spell during the parade and attacked the wizards present, the conflict between the two sides would have completely escalated into a full-blown confrontation, or even war!"

"By then, it was too late, but just at that moment, when the two sides were already at each other's throats, Vaughn Weasley suddenly received precise intelligence that John Mill was meeting with the mastermind, and then launched a surprise attack on the meeting place."

"What's even more coincidental is that he only managed to arrest John Mill, while no one from the masterminds was brought to justice—why are there so many coincidences?"

Furong was completely stunned.

After a moment of stunned silence, she stammered, "You mean, he did it all on purpose?"

Maxim nodded: "That's a possibility, and a very high one at that. Maybe he already knew about John Mill's betrayal and the existence of the mastermind, but he did nothing. Instead, he stood in the shadows and watched them jump around."

"He waited until the time was right, and all conditions were met, before striking decisively to solve the problem at its root. Most impressively, he logically targeted only John Mill, while regrettably missing the mastermind behind it all, ultimately only obtaining a list."

If Ms. Maxim's analysis of Vaughan Weasley's character had previously given Fleur a chill down her spine...

At that moment, she felt a chill run down her spine.

But she still didn't understand: "Why would he do that? Wouldn't it be better to catch him?"

"I don't know what he was thinking, but the reality is, you've seen the power of that list. Because of that list, the English wizarding world is in an uproar. The Wizengamora are arguing, the public is arguing, the people don't trust any of the families on the list, and those families don't trust each other either."

"But at the same time, it seems no one has noticed where Weasley, the one who caused all this, is. Where is C?"

Maxim sighed and warned the shocked Fleur, "I'm not exaggerating or guessing. My most important basis is that when the list incident broke out, Dumbledore was in Beauxbatons and didn't seem to be in a hurry at all. In short, Weasley is definitely not simple. His thoughts and methods are very deep and unpredictable. You must be careful when you come into contact with him."

Well----

Suddenly, Fleur felt her resolve not to go to Hogwarts strengthen once again.

The International Magic School Potions Exchange Program has been in the works for some time now, since it was first proposed.

The plan proceeded smoothly from the very beginning.

When this was proposed, two North American werewolves had just been assassinated, and the entire North American werewolf community held a massive parade, which at one point "occupied" all the wizarding villages in England—though there were never many to begin with—

Such a "rebellious" act naturally attracted a lot of public attention, and the news about the potion exchange plan was overshadowed by it.

Just as the plan was making progress, with Castrobusher and Busbarton announcing their participation, marking a significant step forward, the list controversy resurfaced, stealing the spotlight once again.

No one knows what Vaughn, the plan's initiator, and Dumbledore, who was running around tirelessly for the plan, were thinking.

But one person is definitely very unhappy.

That is the esteemed Minister Cornell Fudge!

Of course, when he first received Dumbledore's message that Vaughn had invited him to join the Potions Exchange Program, our dear Minister Fudge was very happy.

Unfortunately, due to various reasons, such as Dumbledore's unwillingness to leave Hogwarts to become Minister for Magic, and Crouch's withdrawal from the competition due to his involvement with the Death Eater's son, the most popular candidate for Minister for Magic was...

Fudge, who practically got the ministerial position by default, has never had much support in the English wizarding world.

In the few years since taking office, he has focused all his energy on stabilizing his own position, without proposing any effective policies or demonstrating any outstanding performance.

He held the highest position in the magical world, yet he treaded on thin ice.

Just when things were finally starting to stabilize, Fudge finally had the energy and ability to start thinking about boosting his political achievements, only to run into Vaughn Weasley again.

In the formation of C, Fudge, who was completely outmaneuvered by Vaughn, was utterly humiliated.

Being fooled wouldn't be a big deal; politicians are all about swallowing their pride, and playing dumb, spouting nonsense, and calling a deer a horse are skills they absolutely must master.

Keep a low profile for a while, and once the public has almost forgotten about it, you can still come out and wield influence again.

So Fudge's predicament was never about being tricked by Vaughn or losing face, but rather that after losing face, he had no ability to retaliate in kind!

This completely exposed his political weakness and lack of voice.

This is no small matter.

Some say politics is the art of compromise, which is pure nonsense and puts the cart before the horse. The essence of compromise is to unite the majority and isolate a small group, so unity is the foundation of politics.

The most serious problem resulting from being tricked by Vaughn is that the esteemed Minister Fudge has lost the ability to unite people.

Who would pledge allegiance to a leader who has lost the ability to protect himself and retaliate?

Despite his own efforts to win over purebloods like Malfoy, those who looked down on him didn't really pay him much attention.

Summer vacation at Hogwarts was the most difficult time for Fudge.

Vaughn packed his bags and went to North America, which shifted C's focus. C couldn't find a target to re-establish his authority, and he missed his last chance.

After Vaughn returned, the time he caused trouble for Vaughn and C was purely out of desperation.

For him at that time, the best opportunity to regain his prestige had already been lost. As news of Vaughn's various actions in North America continued to reach England, the more successful C became internationally, the more justifiable his failure as minister seemed.

If he hadn't proactively compromised with Vaughn and suffered even greater losses, he would have already slid to his knees.

Therefore, when Vaughn extended an olive branch of reconciliation through Dumbledore some time ago, Fudge accepted it almost immediately.

Of course, this doesn't mean the two have truly reconciled.

It's just mutual exploitation.

He used Vaughn's initiative to reconcile to temporarily stabilize his base and prevent it from declining—that is, a few supporters like Umbridge who still stayed by his side, and some conservatives who still had illusions about him.

Vaughn, on the other hand, used his position to advance reforms to the Defense Against the Dark Arts practical course.

Compared to the signals of reconciliation, Fudge was indeed more eager for the olive branch offered by Vaughn—the potion exchange plan itself.

Merlin realized that since he took office as minister, he had never had such an opportunity to gain political achievements!

Therefore, Fudge was actually very proactive in wanting to make the potion exchange plan a success.

It's just that old madman Dumbledore went back on his word. He clearly agreed to let him lead the negotiations for the exchange program, but while Dumbledore was still secretly trying to interfere in the list incident and trip up Vaughn, Dumbledore launched a sneak attack and preemptively completed the negotiations with Beauxbatons and Castrobushers!

The key issue is that it hasn't even grabbed any attention yet.

What a waste!

Fudge was heartbroken, so not long after Dumbledore, Maxim, and Silva signed the contract, the esteemed Minister could no longer sit still and hurried off to the Scandinavian Peninsula for a formal visit to Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

This incident did generate some buzz, but it wasn't what Fudge had imagined—

A contributor to The Daily Prophet offered a peculiar perspective, suggesting that the minister was using this as an excuse to escape the list incident.

Why?

Because the sole witness to the list, John Mill, died at the hands of the minister's old subordinates—

John Mill's death was the direct cause of the complete explosion of the list scandal.

It's confirmed! It's confirmed!

Cornelius Fudge must have colluded with the mastermind, ordering the memory eraser to kill John Mill in an attempt to muddy the waters and conceal the true identity of the mastermind.

Believe it or not, this argument is quite popular. Not only do ordinary people believe it, but even the pure-blooded wizarding families who are fiercely arguing about it think it makes a lot of sense.

As for whether our dear minister was also betrayed by his former subordinates—who cares?

The writer was right about one thing: Fudge's visit to Durmstrang was indeed an attempt to escape the list incident.

Merlin can testify that he only intervened in the interrogation to annoy Vaughn, but who knew that the damn memory eraser would cause such a huge mess?

Anyway, Fudge isn't planning to go back until the list incident has been resolved.

To be honest, Fudge's visit to Durmstrang wasn't entirely about escaping; he did accomplish something. I don't know what guarantee he made, but on the last day of October, Durmstrang Principal Karkaroff announced the signing of a contract to join the Potions Exchange Program!

However, this news still didn't get any traffic.

Because Halloween is here.

When I returned to Hogwarts last time, I discovered Voldemort's Horcrux notebook from Anna the Ocelot's memories. It had seduced a sixth-year student, who then stole an Ocelot egg.

For the past few days, Vaughn has been investigating what the other party's intentions are.

Of course, that's not entirely accurate either.

Vaughn's so-called investigation actually involved spending most of his time in the library reading notes. As a potion master and the founder of the properties theory and mana extraction method, he knew better than anyone what the harpy eggs were used for in the modern magic system.

Frankly speaking, apart from the composition of the eggshell, pure silver and bird-snake eggs have no value whatsoever.

Separated from its mother, the bird snake, it cannot even hatch.

However, the fact that the modern system is useless does not mean that it did not exist in ancient times, which is why Vaughn went to the library to look through the notes of ancient wizards.

He enjoys doing this himself.

The history of the magical world is too long. Because there was no political power or administrative institution in the early days, the lost history is even longer. For hundreds of years after the establishment of the Ministry of Magic, one of its important tasks has been to compile history based on the poems, articles and notes of ancient wizards.

Unfortunately, progress has been slow.

Whether in ancient or modern times, wizards are generally quite free-spirited. Their writings, especially their free-flowing poetry and notes, perfectly embody this free-spirited nature.

They were practically tools for ancient wizards to vent, spread rumors, and chat on forums, complete with comments.

For example, the book that Vaughn is currently reading.

The owner of the journal lived in the 10th century, the same era as the Four Wizards, but the words left by this ancient wizard in the journal neither mentioned the Four Wizards nor Hogwarts, nor did they describe the customs and culture of the wizarding world at that time.

The entire book is written in a playful style, recording how many Muggles he pranked today, what new method he'd use tomorrow, and then when you turn to the next chapter, you find that he's already forgotten the idea from the previous one.

However, it wouldn't be entirely true to say that the notes were completely worthless. Occasionally, when his "creativity" struck, he would insert ancient magical ritual designs that could help him carry out his "pranks" into the long list of rambling notes.

It's a real headache to find.

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. The key issue is that those rituals seem to contain elements of forgery. A problem Vaughn often encounters is that he finally manages to understand an ancient magical ritual from a bunch of nonsense, but before he can even write it down, he sees a line of ink slowly appear next to him.

Those are the critical comments of the collectors of the notes on the rituals recorded by the note owner, accusing him of errors, omissions, nonsense, and so on. The key point is that these critical comments are also contradictory.

There were even arguments between commentaries from different eras.

Yes, they cast a spell on their comments, making them argue with each other!

It's outrageous!

However, Vaughn is not a historian after all. Although he sometimes gets high blood pressure from reading his comments, most of the time, reading the comments and watching the older generation of critics cross over from different eras is quite interesting.

I spent the afternoon flipping through my notes; another half-day was wasted.

As dusk approached, Mrs. Pince began to usher people out, so Vaughn stopped. He returned the notebook, rubbed his sore eyes, and prepared to go to the auditorium for something to eat.

As Halloween approaches, the festive atmosphere in the castle is gradually growing stronger.

The courtyard, which used to be pitch black at night, is now lit with faint lights. These are jack-o'-lanterns made from hollowed-out giant pumpkins. Hagrid has been busy with these for the past few days. Every day at dawn, you can see him in his fur coat, carrying a giant pumpkin into the castle, bathed in the morning dew.

The corridor, which was normally free of any decorations, was now adorned with live bats hung by Professor Flitwick. Whenever someone passed by, they would frantically flap their wings, and Vaughn had lost count of how many times he had heard the screams of first-year students and some timid little girls.

The auditorium where the Halloween dinner will be held tomorrow is naturally the focus of the decorations.

When Vaughn entered the Great Hall, he found that huge ribbons had been hung from the dome, and Professor McGonagall was walking around, waving her wand and conjuring up strange and wonderful monster balloons that floated up and contrasted with the heavy, dark clouds of the magical dome.

Although there's absolutely no need for this extra step—

The weather has been terrible lately. Every November, the weather in the Scottish Highlands becomes unpredictable. Moist air from the Lowlands and cold air from the North Sea converge in these mountains, often resulting in torrential rain.

Of course, the bad weather did not dampen the festive atmosphere that was about to begin. In the flickering light of the brazier, the little wizards followed Professor McGonagall like quails. Whenever the professor conjured a monster balloon, cheers would erupt from the other side. Professor McGonagall, unusually, did not chase them away, but instead smiled with wrinkles all over her face.

Isabella was also helping out; she dragged in several pumpkin lanterns with her wand. These were champion pumpkins from Hagrid's pumpkin patch, each as big as a carriage, carved into hollowed-out ghost face shapes. With a flicker of the flame, they created many ghostly shadows.

"ha!"

A threatening voice suddenly came from behind me.

Vaughn calmly turned around, and a little girl wearing a skull mask stood behind him, baring her teeth and claws at him.

"—Why aren't you afraid?"

The girl said in a muffled voice.

Vaughn pressed down on her head and rubbed it hard. The girl screamed and struggled free, taking off her hood. It was Ginny.

The little girl is very quiet at home. Apart from being clingy to Vaughn and throwing a tantrum when Vaughn doesn't take her out to play, she is almost never naughty. She is the complete opposite of the twins, so much so that for a while Molly was very worried about whether she would be able to adapt to Hogwarts or be bullied.

Molly's worries turned out to be wrong. After enrolling, perhaps because of Vaughn's financial aid and the fact that she didn't have to use old clothes and books, Ginny didn't develop an inferiority complex. Instead, she made many friends of her own age and became more and more lively and cheerful.

He's already the top dog in Gryffindor's first year!

Everyone knows that her brother is the famous Vaughn Weasley.

Even Slytherin, who were the most at odds with Gryffindor, no one dared to bully her!