Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 312 The Arrogant Snape

Upon hearing this, Snape's expressionless face twitched a few times: "How could you believe that—"

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something, and his brows furrowed slightly: "You suspect that the problem with your etheric ritual a while ago was related to a curse?"

Some time ago, Vaughn suddenly moved away from the castle to recuperate at Hagrid's Cottage. As the head of Slytherin, Snape naturally had the right to know the inside story.

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Vaughn nodded: "Although neither Dumbledore nor I have been able to find anything wrong with the ritual of inviting the aether I used, that is the biggest problem. To simply attribute it to coincidence seems too much of a coincidence."

"Could it be that you're overthinking it?"

Snape thought for a moment, then hesitated slightly: "I've always disapproved of you getting too close to Dumbledore; the old man's always so suspicious—"

"Sometimes, being suspicious isn't a bad thing, Professor. Like last semester, before the Quirinas Quirrell incident, only Dumbledore was convinced that Tom was still alive. At that time, he had no evidence, and it was purely his suspicion and caution that led him to make the right judgment."

"————"

Snape didn't say anything more.

He always seemed to avoid the topic of his former master. He shifted his gaze from Vaughn's face to the glass bottle in Vaughn's hand, and asked, "I heard you're planning to develop a universal substrate to hold the properties of medicinal herbs?"

"Ah, yes, you've read my paper, so you should know that I've been troubled by a problem: the medicinal properties extracted by the magic extraction method cannot exist independently. Even if they are extracted, they must have a material platform to carry their activity, just like when they were medicinal materials, otherwise they will disappear quickly."

"This flaw greatly diminishes the value of my magic extraction method. If its properties cannot exist independently of the herbs, then it cannot create an efficiency gap with the traditional potion-making system. Without this gap, the promotion of the magic extraction method will become a joke among apothecaries—'I can just brew the herbs directly, why bother learning your extraction method?'"

To most people, Vaughn's words would seem "outrageous," daring to challenge the current potion system—simply arrogant.

However, Snape didn't care about any of that.

Although he always had a serious and unsmiling demeanor, Snape was actually very opposed to tradition and dogma. When he was a student, he had criticized and improved the potion recipes in the textbooks in his notebook.

Moreover, since Vaughn enrolled and the two became teacher and student, influenced by Vaughn's advocacy of Muggle science, he has read some Muggle medical books in the past year or so.

Although I'm reluctant to admit it, Muggle knowledge does seem to be quite interesting.

Especially pharmacy.

Pharmacology, drug synthesis, biochemistry, microbiology, physical chemistry, and so on—this complex and vast array of disciplines broadened even Snape's horizons as a Potions Master.

What interests him most are the excipients in Muggle pharmacology.

That was the first time Snape broke away from the herbal concepts of the magical world to systematically understand how a highly developed industrial society could utilize the relationships between compounds to precisely control the interaction between drugs and the environment and the body, thereby achieving precise therapeutic effects and clarifying pharmacology.

So when Vaughn said it, Snape understood what he wanted to do.

In the flickering light of the fire, Snape pondered for a moment, not commenting on whether Vaughn's idea was impractical, but simply asking, "You captured the Eight-Eyed Giant Spider, this artificial magical creature, are you planning to start with the biological aspects?"

Vaughn nodded: "That's how it is for now. After all, the magical world lacks industrial theory and foundation, so it's not very realistic to create a substance through chemical synthesis. However, the magical world has a very mature system and experience in creating living things, and all the ingredients used in potions are natural compounds."

Snape fell silent once again.

No one knew what he was thinking. After a while, Vaughn heard him say calmly, "As your teacher, I think you should focus on your ideas about potions and waste less energy worrying about other things."

"for example?"

Snape's face was stern, his narrowed eyes filled with impatience: "For example, your childish dueling club, which is nonsensical and meaningless, but considering your ideas, I might be able to help you with the potions instructor job—"

what!

If Vaughn hadn't been worried about exposing the professor's arrogant facade and causing him to become angry, he probably would have burst out laughing.

Vaughn walked out of Snape's office carrying the bottle containing Alacride.

"What were you and that greasy-haired guy talking about just now, what did you mean by researching artificial magical creatures?"

A faint questioning sound came from below. Vaughn looked down and saw Alacride, the shrunken spider huddled at the bottom of the bottle, its eight limbs struggling to scrape against the smooth bottle wall to hold itself in place, while its eight eyes stared at Vaughn.

He tried to muster his courage, but his trembling legs and bristles revealed his underlying weakness.

Vaughn casually remarked, "Just like you heard, I'm going to delve into your body—oh, I mean your body structure, organ function, movement mechanisms, neural activity, and so on, including the physical and chemical reactions of your cells at the microscopic level—"

The more Vaughn spoke, the more Alacride trembled.

He angrily retorted, "You promised Aragog that you wouldn't harm my life!"

Unfortunately, due to the shrinking spell, the vocal structure became smaller, causing the angry rebuke to become subtle and sharp, lacking any deterrent power.

Vaughn casually reassured him, "Don't worry, you should have heard of my reputation in the Forbidden Forest. I'm a trustworthy wizard, and I have a rather sophisticated magic that can very safely break your body tissue down into a sheet of flesh as thin as a cicada's wing, and then restore it to its original state."

Upon hearing this, Alacride was so frightened that his hair stood on end. What "very safe"? Only a fool would believe that. No matter how ignorant he was, he didn't think that he could be "pieced back together" intact after being dismembered into pieces. So he started cursing.

I don't know where he learned that from, having always lived in the Forbidden Forest, but he used very offensive language.

Vaughn remained unmoved, calmly reassuring, "Don't worry, don't be afraid. I've used that magic many times. At most, it hurts a bit. You might lose consciousness due to prolonged excruciating pain, but your life is still safe. Isn't a life without consciousness still a life?"

"You, you despicable scoundrel, I knew it—"

'

Alacride continued cursing.

But as Vaughn pointed his wand, a glimmer of light flashed at the tip, and his voice vanished.

In the eerie underground, only Vaughn's faint murmur remained: "Sigh, you really made a mistake with your name. You have no sense of responsibility at all. Being my test subject is such a good opportunity. It would have been atoning for your attack on Harry and you could have participated in a great experiment. If I successfully develop the matrix, Aracle, your name might have a chance to be recorded in the history books."

Inside the bottle, Alacride became increasingly agitated, its chelicerae wriggling wildly.

He looked like he was about to break down.

Vaughn smiled, ignored him, and stuffed the bottle into his bag.

What a fool! He has no sense of the situation at all. If it weren't for Aragog and Hagrid, he would have already ripped this guy's consciousness out of his head and interrogated him.

However, I believe that once the other party has experienced his "living dissociation ritual," their mouth should loosen up, so it's not worth wasting time.

Compared to this clumsy giant spider, Vaughn's energy was mainly focused on reforming the Duel Club.

Emerging from the gloomy Slytherin dungeon, gazing at the snow-covered sky and the hazy light of day, I walked through courtyards, corridors, and stained-glass windows.

Vaughn took a breath of the cold air.

The Duel Club was a platform he built in an attempt to expand his influence at Hogwarts.

His purpose was never hidden from the beginning.

Or rather, it's impossible to hide it even if you want to.

Because he wasn't the only one with similar ideas; our dear Mr. Tom Riddle tried it decades ago.

Learning from the experience of the "Socket Man," the Hogwarts Board of Governors is resistant to any student organization.

For a long time, in the vast Hogwarts, there was only one club belonging to the students: the Gobstone Club.

Other groups, such as the Transfiguration Club and the Charms Club, were extracurricular project groups organized by the heads of the houses. Of course, there was no Potions Club; Snape was already quite impatient just to be able to teach Potions normally.

Therefore, the fact that dueling clubs were approved previously was an exception.

On one hand, Dumbledore gave it his full support; on the other hand, Vaughn used the international potions exchange event to win over Cornelius Fudge, which led to two Ministry of Magic representatives on the Board of Governors turning against them, thus barely getting it approved.

However, the opposition from the school board still imposed many restrictions on the club.

One of the restrictions is that dueling clubs are not allowed to have instructors.

This is a trap based on the English student organization system – as long as the club does not appoint an advisor, then the only person responsible is Vaughn, the initiator.

If any issues arise that the board of trustees deem worthy of "serious action," the board can exercise its legal powers to hold Vaughn accountable in accordance with the rules and regulations.

Conversely, if instructors are appointed, under the English Wizarding Students' Organizations Act, firstly, the club's responsibilities would become blurred, and secondly, the addition of faculty members would likely challenge the jurisdiction of the Board of Governors.

After all, in principle, the Board of Governors only has the power to make decisions and provide oversight. The operational power of Hogwarts belongs to the management team, which consists of the Headmaster, the Deans of the Houses, and the professors of each subject. Legally, the management team has a higher authority than the Board of Governors over student organizations.

With a deep breath, the icy air entered his lungs, and the bone-chilling sensation instantly cleared Vaughn's mind as he pondered the complex rules.

"I agreed to the Board of Governors' restrictions earlier because I wanted to get the club up and running first, and also because Dumbledore was wary of me. Those Board members who supported him allowed the restrictions imposed on the pure-blood family representatives to pass—"

In Vaughn's cold, clear mind, many thoughts floated up and down.

"Politics is not a black-and-white issue, nor is it about clear-cut love and hate or black and white. Dumbledore's support for me doesn't mean he won't secretly use other people's influence to put me on the line!"

"But, although I agreed to the restrictions back then, it doesn't mean I'd actually play those 'games' with you guys. The so-called rules you want to restrict me—actually, I've always wanted to break them!"

"In yesterday's conversation, Dumbledore and I had a showdown. So, the nature of the Duel Club will also have to change. You once tried to use it as a tool to control me, but in reality, it is also my tool — Albus."

"I'm not the only one with conflicts with the board of trustees. There have been several clashes since the start of the semester, Albus. Do you really think the professors whose dissatisfaction you've suppressed aren't angry?"

"Isabella, who is determined to make sweeping reforms to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class; Professor McGonagall, who stood by me through thick and thin; Professor Snape, who watched me being besieged by the Board of Governors; and Professor Kettleburn, who will retire next year and will instead work with me—these are all people I can win over."

"And those young wizards who have already tasted the sweetness of the club!"

Lost in thought, Vaughn walked through the corridor to the courtyard and looked up at the falling snow.

The snow is cold.

His thoughts, however, were burning with passion.

Since the start of the semester, facing pressure from the board of directors, the school has made concessions step by step, and rumors of compromises and "bearing humiliation" have been circulating. The fact that the school has been "oppressed" has been accumulating dissatisfaction and conflict.

This dissatisfaction and conflict exists not only between him and the school board, but also between those who benefited from his series of proposals and his opponents and obstructors.

Snape's agreement to become a mentor would be a signal.

Beneficiaries will be encouraged, while opponents will be driven to madness!

"I have not come to bring peace to the world, but war. How will people know to love me if there is no inspiration, no madness, no contradiction, no conflict?"

Feeling the chill of the snow, and with his thoughts burning, Vaughn lowered his head and slowly walked into the increasingly dense snow.

He still has a lot to do.

For the young wizards at Hogwarts, the weekly dueling club activities are probably the happiest time.

Here, they can speak freely, expressing their wildest fantasies and ideas, and boldly wave their magic wands to see if they have made progress in what they have learned in a week.

Over the past two months, the club's status has, in some ways, even surpassed that of Quidditch—at least within the club, everyone can participate instead of just sitting in the stands as spectators.

So when Vaughn commissioned the young witches to distribute questionnaires, most of the young wizards, except for the fifth and seventh graders who were deep in pre-exam anxiety, actively participated.

While there was some debate about whether to include a "potion instructor" in the lengthy questionnaire, the young wizards were quite happy to invite other types of instructors as well.

The reform of practical courses is progressing faster and faster. Many magical traps and magical creatures can no longer be solved by flipping through heavy tomes or wizarding notes.

They need knowledgeable and experienced teachers to provide targeted and systematic guidance!

Therefore, feedback began to come in gradually the day after the perm was done.

Harry and Ron also completed the questionnaire the following day at noon, proving that Madam Pomfrey's healing potions were indeed effective.

Great, whether it's a euphoric or an energy booster.

Despite the significant side effects, Ron overcame his psychological trauma in just one day.

Harry's cold was almost completely gone as the steam in his ears dissipated.

The two of them argued and bickered as they finished answering the last question in their dorm room. When they rushed to the auditorium with their questionnaires, the auditorium, which was busier than usual during lunchtime, was even more lively than usual.

A group of young witches, dressed in the robes of their respective houses, walked along the long tables of each house, waving their wands as they went, causing pieces of parchment to float up and gather together.

Hermione and Ginny were at the Gryffindor long table.

Meanwhile, the others were chatting happily.

Harry and Ron ran to the Gryffindor table and sat down, panting, just as they overheard Percy sharing his opinion nearby: "—I dare say Professor Flitwick will definitely agree. He likes my brother very much and once praised Vaughn as a Charms genius, even inviting him to join the Charms Club. You know, the requirements for joining this club are very strict, but it's also a great help to academics. At least it helped me get 12 OL certificates—"

Hmph!

Ron rolled his eyes and made a vomiting motion.

"He doesn't care about Vaughn," Ron whispered to Harry. "He just wants to ride on Vaughn's coattails and show off that he's also a genius certified by Professor Flitwick!"

Harry lowered his voice as well, but with a hint of admiration in it: "But he really did get 12 OL certifications, didn't he?"

"...

'

Ron was frustrated and speechless, but it was indeed difficult to refute.

Fortunately, the twins came over at that moment.

"Hey, dear Harry, and my silly brother, I heard you were sick yesterday?"

"Your pickup line is so old-fashioned, Fred. Yesterday we clearly saw Harry running around the castle with smoke coming out of his ears, like the Hogwarts Express."

"I call that being tactful, just like I didn't say it directly. Yesterday, many people saw Ron sitting in the infirmary grinning like an idiot, and more than one person rushed up to me in a panic and said: 'Fred George, your brother has gone mad!'"

"Ha ha ha ha""

The twins suddenly burst into laughter.

Ron's face was as gloomy as the sky outside, which was covered with thick, leaden clouds.

Harry was worried he might lose his temper and take action—don't get me wrong, he wasn't worried that Ron would hit the twins, but that Ron would get beaten up.

Fortunately, this did not happen.

Seamus jumped in at the opportune moment, retorting to Percy: "But I heard from Malfoy that the Board of Trustees doesn't allow the Duel Club to invite instructors. Even if Professor Flitwick really likes Vaughn, can he defy the Board of Trustees?"

After these words were spoken, the surrounding area fell silent for a moment.

Hesitation and worry were mixed on everyone's faces.

Harry glanced at the Slytherin table across from him; the atmosphere there was even heavier than it was here.