Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 341 Qi Refiner

In her view, Vaughn's words were obviously just a joke.

Therefore, she didn't linger on this topic but instead asked, "Does the Magic Institute participate in potion exchange activities?"

"Yes, the Central Qi Refining Academy is the hardest to win over. Once they agree to join, others with ambiguous attitudes will rush to join, especially the Magic Institute."

Qiu Zhang was very clever. After a little thought, he understood that Vaughn regarded the Central Alchemy Academy as a fish, and those countries and schools that were curious about it and feared it would never dare to let it live too comfortably.

This left Qiu Zhang with very mixed feelings.

She paused for a moment, composed herself, and then slowly said, "In the evening, the owl brought a letter from Dad. In the letter, he said that he was not optimistic about the event you organized because you were too ambitious and seemed to underestimate the conflicts and contradictions between different schools."

Cho Chang came from a family of wizards; her father was naturally a wizard as well. From the time the Daily Prophet published Fudge's story at the start of the school year...

Dumbledore had been paying close attention to this matter while negotiating with China.

Clearly, he was not a supporter of the potion campaign.

"Dad said that the Central Alchemy Academy and the Magic Institute can't coexist peacefully, especially the Magic Institute!"

Vaughn simply smiled at this and retorted, "Why should I care about them?"

"Um?

'

"Many people have expressed their concerns to me today, including some old wizards who had experienced the war, who asked me this question at the inquiry in Wisengard.

"But you've all got one thing wrong. The event I'm organizing is a potion exchange, a research trip, not some political game. Dispute mediation isn't part of the event. Whoever starts trouble, I'll kick them out!"

"There is no politics here, no fairness or justice. I am the only one in charge. Anyone who doesn't obey my will can go back to where they came from!"

Qiu Zhang looked bewildered.

Vaughn stayed in the Ravenclaw Tower until late at night before leaving.

Instead of returning to his dormitory, he went to the principal's office on the top floor of the main tower, where a roaring fire was burning in the fireplace.

The glowing embers and leaping flames formed the outline of Dumbledore's upper body in the fireplace. As Vaughn entered, "he" spat out a string of sparks: "Welcome back, my dear. If you don't leave Ravenclaw soon, or even spend the night there, I'll have a hard time explaining to Felius how he's complained to me several times that you completely disregard the rules."

Vaughn ignored the old man's teasing, took out Dumbledore's tea leaves, brewed himself a cup, and then sat down by the fireplace, asking, "How are things in the East?"

"It's not bad, except for the food. The flavors here are too bland. It doesn't have the rich flavors of French cuisine, there's no fish and chips, and even the desserts aren't sweet."

Old Deng complained at length.

But I believe no one will care about his words; his strange tastes are something no country in the world can satisfy.

Vaughn listened quietly for a few minutes, and after he finished complaining, he said calmly, "Fudge's press release has been sent back and has been published in the Daily Prophet. There has been a strong public reaction to his attempt to take credit for the work."

"As expected." Sparks flew from Dumbledore's mouth and nose. He squinted and said casually, "This was promised to him long ago. It's normal for him to take it. As long as he doesn't get carried away with this and think that making achievements is easy, and then acts recklessly in the future, what does it matter if he gets the reputation?"

As he spoke, he looked at Vaughn: "But regarding the issue Miss Qiu Zhang raised, do you really think that way? Focus on potions, avoid getting involved in disputes, and kick out anyone who provokes or disrupts the event?"

"You're spying on me again."

"How could that be? I'm not that kind of person!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "It was some headmistresses from Ravenclaw who overheard and relayed it to me."

A moment of silence fell over the headmaster's office. The next instant, the "former headmasters" in the picture frames, who had been feigning sleep, burst into a tirade against Dumbledore: "You damned bastard, it was you who ordered us to spy on Weasley!"

"You wretched, scrawny chicken, who is it that's begging us old women to wander around the castle all day with tears and snot streaming down their face?!"

"You'd better never put a picture frame next to me, Dumbledore!"

Several old witches cursed, interspersed with the commotion of other portraits, Phineas Black's snickering laughter, and Headmistress Weasley's weary shouts of "Silence!"

Old Deng paid no attention to the noise and curses around him. He was thick-skinned anyway. "Look how energetic they are. I've always worried that keeping them locked up for too long would cause them mental problems. To be honest, this time it was really their own initiative—they volunteered to patrol the castle because Hogwarts hasn't interacted with other schools for a long time. The last time was 200 years ago in the last Triwizard Tournament, and it stopped after that."

With that topic brought up, Vaughn casually said, "If everything goes well after this potion event, I'm considering restarting the Triwizard Tournament. What do you think?"

In the fireplace, the flames outlined Dumbledore's face, but the smile vanished. He stared at Vaughn, his gaze seemingly trying to transcend time and space to see into Vaughn's heart.

""

After a moment, seemingly realizing that this was ineffective, his expression became listless again, and he said perfunctorily, "The Three-Way Championship—"

"Yes, that's important, but I think we can talk about it later. Besides, you haven't answered my question yet, darling!"

Vaughn replied calmly, "Yes, there's no politics, only potions."

Having received the answer, Dumbledore winked jokingly: "If you think like that, other schools might not be willing to comply. You've taken advantage of the East's return to the international stage, but you don't want to bear the trouble they bring—child, there's no such thing as a free lunch."

"Furthermore, I don't believe your self-esteem is that pure, unless you already have a bias in your heart. This statement is just a high-sounding cloak—well, Miss Qiu Zhang said that the Central Qi Refining Academy has strict discipline and will not easily start disputes, but the Magic Institute is very likely to—"

Old Deng's contemplation came to an abrupt end.

Thinking about it carefully, Vaughn had always shown a great fondness for China; he liked the food there, as well as its proverbs and stories.

Of course, Dumbledore didn't think liking a foreign country was a big deal.

He himself likes India!

What bothered him was that Vaughn's "liking" for China went a bit too far, even giving him the feeling that Vaughn's main purpose in organizing the potion exchange event was China!

Although Vaughn never explicitly showed any signs of this, Dumbledore's intuition told him that the Potions Exchange was not of much importance to Vaughn.

One of the main reasons is that Vaughn paid little attention to the contact process with magic high schools such as Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Castorbuscher.

Dumbledore sometimes even wondered if the so-called potion exchange was just an excuse Vaughn used to make contact with China.

Whenever he thought of this, Dumbledore felt a deep sense of unease.

Because he had gradually come to understand Vaughn's ambition to break the law of secrecy!

The secrecy law is the foundation upon which the world can maintain peace and tranquility, and it is also the foundation of the International Confederation of Wizards. To abolish the secrecy law is to stand on the opposite side of the Confederation.

To stand against such a behemoth, unless one is insane, no one would choose to fight alone.

He had long suspected that Vaughn might find him a "helper".

So, what other force in the world has been openly opposing the International Confederation of Wizards and fits the description of an "assistant"?

Dumbledore wasn't sure if his intuition or his guesses were correct; he even hoped he was wrong—but the reality was that "hope" might just be wishful thinking.

This judgment is based not only on Vaughn's attitude, but also on the attitude of China.

They chatted for a while about the progress of negotiations with other magic high schools over the fireplace. As always, Vaughn showed little interest in the other magic high schools.

Since Vaughn invented the spell called "Dimensional Gate," he has become less and less pretentious in front of him, and his indifference, coldness, and true thoughts have gradually become less concealed.

The bad news is that Vaughn is increasingly becoming a destabilizing factor.

The good news is that, so far, Vaughn has not shown any signs of becoming a second Voldemort—otherwise, Dumbledore thinks he would probably have died of a heart attack.

After finishing their discussion about potions and drinking tea, Vaughn left.

According to him, he wanted to rest for two days during the Christmas holiday and take the opportunity to sort out his thoughts. He also asked that no one should contact him during this time.

Dumbledore bid farewell to Vaughn with a grin, but once the fireplace connection was disconnected, he took a breath, slumped heavily in his chair, and couldn't help but pinch his brow with one hand.

The previous ease was all an act.

He is still at Laojun Mountain in China, staying in his cliffside dwelling, a typical Chinese house.

Above the unique Chinese-style courtyard, there is a magical canopy that faithfully reflects the snowy weather outside, while in the courtyard, bonsai pines and cypresses, arrow bamboo and lotus roots exude a rich spring atmosphere.

The only problem was the hygiene. He had asked China to add a fireplace to his residence in the past two days. The fireplace had just been completed, and the unused materials were piled up in the yard and hadn't been cleaned up yet, making it look a bit messy and sloppy.

Of course, China also has Fibre Network, but they don't like using fireplaces, and their network is not connected to the international network. To be precise, decades ago when China was self-isolating, Fibre Network, DoorKey and other transmission networks were cut off by China, leaving only a few dedicated lines for diplomatic purposes.

This de facto severance of communication has not been restored to this day.

The fireplace he recently added was actually an extra temporary line that the Chinese side proactively arranged to advance the negotiations.

Naturally, this line was monitored.

After finishing his call with Vaughn, Dumbledore rubbed his temples in distress. Not long after, the courtyard gate opened, and amidst the cacophony of sounds from near and far, a fleeting shadow "walked" in.

It's Master Li!

The other party entered and immediately began to interrogate: "Albus, you promised us that you would repair your relationship with Vaughn Weasley as soon as possible, but we haven't seen any progress from you!"

Yes, China is monitoring Dumbledore's Floo network, and they're making no attempt to hide it.

The main theme is: even when you're in the wrong, you're still assertive!

Dumbledore's beard trembled a few times, and he felt a pain in his heart: "It's not my fault. I told you, he's gotten too big for his britches now and doesn't listen to me much anymore—if you ask me, you'd better give up on contacting him. That kid is cold-hearted and ungrateful by nature, and cooperating with him is not a good choice."

Under the influence of magic, Li Tianshi, who was shrouded in mist like a blurry shadow, briefly revealed his face, his expression serious: "Are you joking, or are you serious?"

"————Okay, I was just kidding————"

"Hmph—this is not funny at all. You know how much effort we've put into facilitating these negotiations. Your every word and action could undo all that effort!"

'

How come it all turned out to be my fault as we were talking?

Dumbledore was frustrated. At the same time, Li Tianshi's attitude was also one of the reasons why he was uneasy about facing Vaughn. For some reason, it seemed that the Chinese side was looking forward to meeting Vaughn!

At least that's the case for the faction represented by Li Tianshi.

During the previous negotiations, Master Li showed great concern because of the conflict between him and Vaughn, and even "threatened" him about it.

Later, after Li Tianshi's faction gained the upper hand in the negotiations, they made no attempt to conceal their true intentions.

These despicable Qi Refiners demanded that the exchange delegation from the Central Qi Refining Academy be led by Master Li, adhering to a purely academic stance and free from the unexpected factors brought about by official institutions. Furthermore, during the event, Master Li would plan the teaching process of Vaughn Weasley, the initiator of the integrated potion exchange activities.

In other words, they wanted to arrange a meeting between Master Li and Vaughn Weasley to determine their living and production plans during the event, taking into account the needs of both parties.

The English Ministry of Magic has no jurisdiction over this, nor can it interfere.

Vaughn has ulterior motives towards China, and China also has ulterior motives towards Vaughn.

It's no wonder Dumbledore was uneasy about this "two-way journey".

Unfortunately, both sides were extremely wary. Vaughn was skilled in Occlumency and his mastery of it was exceptional. Li Tianshi on this side was no less adept, rarely revealing his true face to Vaughn, making it impossible for him to find an opportunity to manipulate his mind.

He was filled with worry.

Beside him, Master Li reiterated the importance of Vaughn Weasley: "We value the stability of the English magical world very much. An orderly succession is undoubtedly a major prerequisite for stability, so you must handle your relationship with your successor, Vaughn Weasley, well, Albus."

"—I've said it many times, neither Vaughn nor I represent England, Fudge does—"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Tianshi interrupted him: "Do you even believe what you're saying?"

Dumbledore was speechless.

He quickly changed the subject, pointing outside and saying, "When you came in just now, I thought I heard a lot of people arguing outside. What happened?"

Knowing he was changing the subject, but not wanting to press too hard, Master Li readily replied, "It's the True Lords of Lao Jun Mountain. They're capturing clouds and weaving cloud chariots for the children in the academy's exchange group!"