Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 314 A Curse Like a Miracle

Kettleburn stroked his stubble-covered chin thoughtfully. "I'd love to smash his head in. Nobody can stop my love for those big guys, not even Dumbledore!"

Vaughn shrugged: "The Board of Trustees has been interfering in castle affairs for months. It's a similar concept to the four deans. Of course, the four deans don't have as volatile a temper as you, but their patience has its limits. They just lack a reasonable excuse."

"But—" Kettleburn scratched his head. This old wizard, who had taught all his life, had long lost his sensitivity to politics and seemed somewhat confused at this moment: "—Can Minerva and the others stand up to the Board of Governors? The Board of Governors' oversight power is above all other rights."

Vaughn smiled: "It comes down to this: everyone has selfish desires. The deans have them, you have them, and the board of trustees naturally has them too. No organization in the world can truly achieve a complete unity of goals and ideas. As a professor, you must have attended many meetings. Think carefully: in any meeting you've attended with more than three people, has there ever been one without arguments?"

Well----

Kettleburn thought about it carefully, and it really was true.

"There's a Muggle saying that you shouldn't talk about business when there are more than seven people at a gathering, because it will start arguing. And this is just a gathering. Their arguments are based on personal opinions rather than interests. If there are interests and hatred involved, a group of seven or eight people may develop into more than ten factions."

"The Board of Trustees has 12 members: 4 from pure-blood families, 4 from wizarding families, 2 from prominent socialites, and 2 appointed by the Ministry of Magic. Professor, do you think they will unite as one?"

At this point, even if Kettleburn had very low political sensitivity, he couldn't bring himself to say the word "will".

Extending from Vaughn's earlier statement, let's calculate the backgrounds of these 12 committee members and the interests and group will they likely represent.

Kettleburn felt a chill run down his spine.

It's completely incomprehensible!

Who on earth invented this monstrous thing called politics?

However, despite the complexity of the situation, he still asked out of curiosity, "Did you win over some members of the board of directors?"

"How can you say it's an attempt to win them over? The committee members are worried that Hogwarts' teaching program will be disrupted and want to end the dispute as soon as possible," Vaughn replied with a smile.

"—Who? A wizarding family?"

In Kettleburn's mind, wizarding families were more inclined to support Dumbledore, and Vaughn was Dumbledore's successor.

But to his surprise, Vaughn shook his head: "No, this time, they might be my opponents."

"?"

Vaughn didn't say anything more, which wasn't surprising, because his motion to restore all the club's functions violated his previous agreement with Dumbledore.

Therefore, those wizarding family committee members who would have supported him are mostly unreliable, and some may even oppose him in order to curry favor with Dumbledore. In fact, there are already some wizarding families who have quite a few grievances against him.

The problem arose during my trip to North America.

Those young wizards who were not valued by their families and were sent to North America to handle family affairs were quickly attracted to C's ideas after coming into contact with Vaughn. Then, due to a series of changes in Boston, they all eventually joined Vaughn's ranks, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

Vaughn thus almost completely wiped out the influence of several English wizarding families in North America.

It's impossible for them not to feel resentment.

They didn't express any objections simply because Dumbledore hadn't spoken, and they didn't dare!

Now, they clearly have an opportunity.

"But in reality, I don't care about you anymore."

Otherwise, Vaughn wouldn't have been able to win over the younger generation of wizarding families when he was in North America.

Lost in thought, and seeing that Professor Kettleburn was no longer asking questions, Vaughn refocused his attention on the research equipment in front of him.

Negotiations in China are still ongoing, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the international magic school potion exchange event will proceed smoothly as planned.

Once the negotiations with China were completed, each country began to discuss specific dates for the event based on its own circumstances.

Before that, he had to prepare for his first official "international debut".

While Vaughn was enchanting the equipment, Professor Kettleburn was also busy, helping to organize it while observing Vaughn's enchanting methods. He would join Vaughn's research group after he retired next year.

But Vaughn's research methods are different from the traditional methods he is familiar with in the magical world; they are a combination of magic and Muggle technology.

Leaving aside Muggle technology, which he only had a superficial understanding of and was not an expert in, there were many unfamiliar things about magic that Vaughn demonstrated, such as a new spell called "Multispectral Vision Charm".

To be honest, even though I kept exaggerating Vaughn Weasley's achievements after meeting him.

But upon seeing the "Multispectral Vision Charm," Kettleburn realized he hadn't taken this young wizard seriously enough. As expected of a potions master who could research wolfsbane potion, even his spells were unique!

In short, there is still a lot he needs to learn before officially joining the research group. If he doesn't work hard now, he will not only fail to be an immediate contributor when he joins the research group next year, but he may also become a hindrance, which would be too embarrassing.

After a flurry of activity, within a few tens of minutes, the once-abandoned classroom was transformed into what resembled a laboratory.

Several worktables were neatly arranged along the edge of the classroom, and rows of enchanted instruments and equipment from Muggle society were arranged in an orderly fashion.

In the center of the room, there was an empty area, though not entirely empty. The floor and ceiling of that area were covered with abstract patterns painted with strange pigments.

They look devoid of any beauty or regularity, like a forced patchwork of completely unrelated shapes.

Standing with Vaughn at the edge of the room, looking at the area in the center with the drawn graphics, Kettleburn looked confused and fascinated.

Yes, these two completely different expressions appeared on his face.

He was confused because he couldn't understand what those graphics meant. They were so abstract and chaotic, without a single point of reference. If he hadn't watched Vaughn carefully draw them stroke by stroke, he would have thought they were just some naughty child's random scribbles.

As for the obsession, as a seasoned wizard, Kettleburn intuitively felt that the "thing" ultimately formed by those abstract graphics must be some kind of exquisite ritual.

"What is this?"

He asked in a murmur.

"A spell I haven't fully completed yet. Because its design is quite complex, I can't combine it into a single incantation for the time being. It can only be carried out using ancient magical rituals. I call it Vaughn's Living Dissociation Ritual." Vaughn, who was also examining his own work, replied.

A very straightforward name!

Kettleburn liked the style, and he asked with great interest, "You said it's designed with complex functions, so what exactly can it do?"

Upon hearing his question, Vaughn paused, considered for a moment, and then explained, "It can be used to dissect and observe living organisms!"

"Huh?" Kettleburn turned around in surprise, bluntly stating, "That's it? I could slice that eight-eyed giant spider open with a knife!"

Beside the two, Alacride, still inside the bottle and in a defensive stance, stared intently at the evil old man with his eight eyes!

"It's different, dear professor." Vaughn shook his head: "Life and death are two completely different states in the movement of a living organism. The dead eight-eyed giant spider can only allow us to complete the most basic research, such as its organs and mechanistic structure. You know, that's far from enough."

Kettleburn seemed to understand: "Your magic allows us to dissect him alive?"

"!"

Shocked, Aracleth split his eyes into four and stared intently at Vaughn.

"Yes, in my initial conception, 'Living Dissociation' was a Frankenstein's monster, a fusion of three major disciplines: spells, transmutations, and potions. Potions were responsible for nurturing and protecting the organism's vitality, transmutations for dissociating the organism, and spells for observation and detection—"

Listening to Vaughn's explanation, Kettleburn seemed completely oblivious to the torture-like cruelty implied in the various ideas. Instead, he nodded repeatedly, his interest growing: "What a brilliant design—but why do you say it was your original idea?"

It was rare to encounter a "scientific madman," and Vaughn became quite interested, speaking eloquently: "Because the discipline involves too many things, too complex, the more complex something is, the more difficult it is to further optimize. At the same time, the performance of Transfiguration in terms of dissociation is unsatisfactory; it is difficult to stably refine it to the cellular level without damaging the organism. Also, the ability to observe spells is not very good—so later I redesigned it—do you know about the theory of dimensional space?"

This was a rather obscure term. Kettleburn paused for a moment before realizing what it meant: "It seems to be some kind of Muggle concept, like one-dimensional or two-dimensional?"

Vaughn chuckled and said, "I must say, it's been a very pleasant chat with you. Dumbledore and Snape usually don't quite understand what I'm saying."

Hearing his praise, Kettleburn laughed heartily.

Beside him, Vaughn beckoned, and a piece of parchment and a quill automatically floated to his side, where they began to draw pictures.

The image is a two-dimensional depiction of a spider, but unlike normal spider pictures, the spider in this two-dimensional image is "naked".

Its muscles, internal organs, blood vessels, and glands are laid bare on the parchment, like a spider's flattened cross-section.

Connecting this to what Vaughn had just said about dimensional space, Kettleburn suddenly realized: Vaughn was demonstrating a "two-dimensional life form".

Sure enough, Vaughn pointed to the picture and said, "Based on the theory of dimensionality, if there exists some kind of two-dimensional life that we can observe, then it should look something like this to us. Everything about it is exposed to our eyes, and it has no secrets for us three-dimensional life forms."

"Similarly, suppose there is a four-dimensional being that sees us the way we see this two-dimensional spider in the picture —"

As an old wizard, Kettleburn struggled to grasp Muggle knowledge, which slowed his reaction by several beats before his eyes widened as Vaughn explained.

He looked at Vaughn, then at the ritual in the center of the room, his mouth agape: "So, you used Muggle knowledge to develop a magic that can construct a five-dimensional space?"

Vaughn smiled.

In reality, Muggle knowledge alone cannot achieve this. Muggle assumptions and explanations of space are usually not practical, but rather highly abstract and limited.

The ability to complete the new "Vorn Dissociation Ritual" was inspired by the "Enchanted Module," that constantly changing hypercube.

The value of this module, which was a reward from the system, to him was not limited to the functions that the system had set for it!

In fact, to some extent, the spatial mysteries revealed by each transformation of the hypercube are far greater than its functional purpose!

Kettleburn's scarred face practically radiated curiosity: "Could you show me?"

"certainly!"

Vaughn readily agreed.

He beckoned with his finger, and the bottle containing Alacride slowly floated up, flying towards the area of ​​the ritual symbols.

Alacryd inside the bottle was terrified, his eyes wide with horror: "Damn red-haired monkey—that old bastard who deserves to go to hell—"

Let me go! Don't even think I'll succumb to your torture!

He started cursing.

But as the bottle flew into the ritual, Vaughn cast another spell, and the bottle shattered in a crimson aura, dispelling the shrinking spell on him.

The panic in his heart still broke through him, because the moment the shrinking spell was lifted, he saw that the ritual patterns painted on the floor and ceiling beneath him and above his head also lit up.

Some strange magic locked him in place in an instant, as if he had fallen entirely into a piece of hard amber—

No, it was more like he had fallen into a narrow, cramped space that made it difficult for him to move!

"No! No! Vaughn Weasley—Dear Mr. Weasley, I will tell you everything, I…"

His pleading voice abruptly stopped.

From the edge of the room came Vaughn's sigh: "You fool who flatters and fawns, I gave you a chance long ago."

At the same time, intense, seemingly soul-deep pain surged into Alarclyde's consciousness like a storm.

However, to Kettleburn and Vaughn, who were outside the ritual, it was a sudden flash of magical light.

Whoosh!

The body of the eight-eyed giant spider Aracleed is like a blooming flower. His three-layered exoskeleton, his muscles, nerves, internal organs, glands—and even the tubular, spindle-shaped, and thread-like fibers that make up all of this, down to the cellular structure that makes up the fibers—all of him, in a twisted and abstract way that is difficult to describe in words, unfolds from the "inside" to the "outside" along a multifaceted space with a strange beauty.

Crystal clear, everything is laid bare, with no secrets whatsoever!

At that moment, time seemed to stand still.

The multifaceted structure filled with flesh and blood, like a frozen, crystalline block of ice, amidst the ritual patterns painted on the floor and ceiling, meticulously displays every detail of the giant spider's body, both inside and out.

For Kettleburn, this was a very strange visual experience. The giant spider's flesh and blood were all confined within a polyhedral space, and normally, one should only be able to see the outermost layer.

But the reality was that behind that transparent spatial structure, layers of giant spider body tissues bloomed like flowers, as if they had consciousness, eagerly and frantically squeezing themselves into his field of vision.

Like a jigsaw puzzle that keeps flipping and expanding in all directions, these pieces rapidly extend in all directions from the polyhedron as the center in his field of vision. In just a moment, those images, from macroscopic to microscopic, depicting the mysteries of the giant spider's life, filled his entire field of vision.

As his eyes received the visual signal, a torrent of information, like a flood bursting its banks, overwhelmed his consciousness without restraint.

He felt like his head was about to explode!

This is not a description or a metaphor!

Rather, he clearly felt something invisible flowing through the polyhedron, the giant spider's flesh bound by the polyhedron, and the unfolding images of countless mysteries of life—flowing into his mind, which he had thought was wise and profound enough, but which at this moment seemed incredibly narrow.

Just when he thought his head might explode at any moment.

A hand holding a wand pointed at it from the side.

The murmured incantation seeped into his ears amidst the flood of information, and the tip of the magic wand, glowing with a fluorescent light, gently landed on his forehead.

then!

Buzz—

Kettleburn felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His head felt like it had hit something hard, causing a shock, a dull pain, a ringing in his ears, and his eardrums felt swollen as if liquid was surging inside.

But at the same time, the feeling of information flooding in from the outside world was also cut off—a dizzying white light fell from his forehead and exploded in front of his eyes, instantly covering the seemingly endless scene unfolding in his vision.

Kettleburn's consciousness went blank amidst the white light and hum.

After what seemed like an eternity, he regained consciousness, panting heavily. His head was still throbbing with pain, but the feeling of being about to explode was gone.

The moment he regained consciousness, Kettleburn quickly turned his head away, unable to bear looking at the crystal-clear polyhedron in the center of the ritual, and Alacride bound within it.

He looked at Vaughn with lingering fear: "What...what was that I just saw?"

"Information, Professor, the high-dimensional space constructed by the ritual instantly projected all the information contained within the life form of this eight-eyed giant spider onto you and me. We are the only two intelligent life forms within its sphere of influence in this room that can receive information. So, it's not that you see it, but that they actively rush into our eyes."

This is a description that feels both inexplicable and chilling upon closer examination.

Seeing Kettleburn's frightened expression, Vaughn smiled: "But don't worry, information needs a carrier, and the carrier of that information is light waves. I just cast a spell to filter it for you. Once you learn my Multispectral Vision Spell, this situation will no longer occur."

Upon hearing this, Kettleburn hesitated for a moment, but still turned around.

The polyhedral space came into view again, but this time, none of the terrifying mysteries of the past appeared.

Gazing at the indescribable, multifaceted form of flesh and blood suspended in mid-air, Kettleburn couldn't help but utter a sigh unbecoming of a wizard: "Truly amazing magic—"

Looking at the multifaceted Vaughn, he nodded slightly: "Yes, it's a miracle."