Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 71 Followers and Lupin

In the afternoon, Fudge contacted Vaughn again.

At Vaughn's request, the meeting place for the two was arranged to be in Hogsmeade.

Vaughn has never been to this wizarding town, which is the closest to Hogwarts. Only students in the third year and above can come here to play on weekends with parental consent.

The snow continued to fall after Christmas.

The entire Hogsmeade was shrouded in swirling snowflakes, and the cold wind was blowing, making it virtually impossible to see anyone.

The few wizards who occasionally come to visit mostly stay at the Hog's Head or the Three Broomsticks. Fudge took Vaughn to the Three Broomsticks.

Perhaps because Vaughn was young and Dumbledore wasn't watching him closely, Fudge seemed very relaxed. When he saw the beautiful and mature landlady with the three brooms, he even exchanged a few flirtatious words with her.

If this happens a few years from now, Ron will definitely be fighting Fudge to the death.

Ms. Rosmerta led the two to a private room, and Fudge, while removing his cloak, gave the instructions:

"Dear Rosmerta, could you please get me a pitcher of butterbeer, and some drinks and snacks for this child? We have some things to discuss, so please make sure no one disturbs us, okay?"

"Yes, Minister."

Ms. Rosmerta agreed, glancing curiously at Vaughn.

While Fudge wasn't looking, Vaughn winked at her, making the woman pause for a moment. Even after she went outside, she was still peeking around.

Fudge gently helped Vaughn into a chair, then sat opposite him, crossed his arms, and asked softly, "Son, have you thought it through?"

"Yes, I agree to transfer ownership of the formula and the wolfsbane potion to the Ministry of Magic!"

Vaughn nodded. "But I have one request."

"Please speak, child."

Fudge's face lit up with joy. He needed Vaughn, the inventor of the potion, to stand by him. As long as Vaughn agreed and the request wasn't excessive, he could fulfill it.

"I'd like to know if the location for the Merlin Order's awarding of my medal two days from now could be changed?"

"Huh?" Fudge paused for a moment, but still answered:

"Of course, there's no fixed location for the investiture ceremony. Where would you like to hold it? Hogwarts?"

Vaughn shook his head: "I want it in Diagon Alley!"

Fudge didn't quite understand: "Why?"

"You know about Muggle press conferences, right? I want all werewolves to receive the potion. Now that I've decided to hand it over to the Ministry of Magic and you, I thought it would be better to announce this news at my awarding ceremony, invite more people and more media, and turn it into a press conference so that everyone knows. After all, the Wizengamot Court is a solemn place, and it might not be suitable for doing this kind of thing."

Vaughn finished explaining his thoughts in one breath, just as Ms. Rosmerta brought in drinks and snacks.

Vaughn picked up his drink, took a sip, and then raised his glass to Rosmerta. Rosmerta touched her face with a strange expression—she had actually been teased by a child today!

Fudge was still thinking; he certainly wasn't beginning to doubt Vaughn's motives.

From the very beginning, he did not consider this child an opponent.

He was thinking about the "press conference" model. If, as Vaughn envisioned, more people and more media were invited to participate, wouldn't the impact of this event be even greater? Perhaps it would even spread internationally?

At that time, the inventor of the wolfsbane potion will once again clearly support the Ministry of Magic in promoting the "Werewolf Registration Act," authorizing the Ministry of Magic to have sole control over the wolfsbane potion...

Fudge's breathing suddenly became rapid.

He seemed to see himself surrounded by spotlights, to see the overwhelming public opinion pushing his prestige to its peak, and to see his rivals, who coveted the throne beneath him, retreating in panic before his halo!

"No, this needs to be carefully planned..."

In that instant, Fudge sensed an opportunity and could no longer remain seated. However, he patiently and gently said to Vaughn, "Son, I cannot give you an answer right now. I need to go back and discuss it with the department. But rest assured, I will do my best to help you!"

After saying that, he left in a hurry.

Vaughn sipped his drink, and a short while later, Ms. Rosmerta came in again, smiling, "Little one, the minister instructed me to look after you. Would you like some more drinks? Or shall I go to Bee Duke and buy you some candy?"

Vaughn rested his chin on his hand, looked at her beautiful, mature face, and smiled: "Madam, no need for that, please look me in the eye."

"Varied……"

As Vaughn quietly waved his wand and murmured the incantation, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, and Lady Rosmerta's smile froze instantly. A moment later, she straightened up expressionlessly, listening to Vaughn's instructions in her ear:

"Now, don't show anything unusual, go open the back door and bring the people waiting outside to me."

"……yes!"

Memory magic, what a terrifying thing.

With Legilimency alone, one can manipulate people's memories at will, which explains why Dumbledore was unwilling to teach it before.

With a slight sigh, Vaughn took out a piece of parchment and wrote on it with his wand:

"Wait until the back door opens after the three brooms are in place, then follow behind her."

Soon, the reply came from the other end: "Yes, sir!"

He then put away the parchment, took out a notebook and silently flipped through it; inside was the next step in the research and development plan for the wolfsbane drug.

Based on previous tests, Vaughn discovered that once infected, the werewolf virus is very difficult to kill completely, and the curse power it contains may involve the soul realm.

Anything involving the soul is troublesome, so in the next phase, Vaughn will temporarily stop pursuing a complete cure for the werewolves and instead try to weaken the contagiousness of the werewolf virus, and ideally solve the problem of the werewolves transforming on the night of the full moon.

Only if werewolves cannot transform on the night of the full moon can their situation improve.

As I was pondering this, I heard a noise coming from the stairs.

Vaughn silently counted the footsteps; besides Ms. Rosmerta, there were four other people.

He put down his notebook, and after a short while, he stopped at the door. Rosmerta pushed the door open, quietly stepped aside, and four ragged men walked in.

The first two looked excited when they saw Vaughn, who greeted them with a smile: "William, Barnald, my friends, you did a great job!"

Tears streamed down Barnal's face as he knelt before Vaughn, kissing his robes. "Sir," he cried, "I saw your efforts in the Daily Prophet. I've gathered over 200 werewolves for you, and they're in London now!"

This werewolf, who lost his parents at a young age and wandered in the wilderness, has a very simple mind. He gives his whole heart to whoever is kind to him.

Since leaving that day, he has been the most active in searching for the wizard werewolf and has maintained the closest contact with Vaughn among all of them.

Especially after seeing the news published in the Daily Prophet yesterday.

Compared to Barnald Jr., William White was much more reserved. He removed his hat and gave Vaughn a slight bow, then turned to introduce the two men behind him: "Sir, these are two werewolf wizards who have been helping us make contact with you. This is Mr. James Brown, and this is Mr. Remus Lupin..."

"Um?"

Vaughn, who was comforting little Barnal, looked up at William's left and saw the thin, disheveled figure.

Vaughn ruffled little Barnal's hair to help him up—though it wasn't a good thought, he felt like he was petting a big dog… Living in the wilderness for so long might have made little Barnal lose some of his humanity.

Strange thoughts raced through his mind, but Vaughn remained outwardly calm as he looked at the two werewolf wizards.

James Brown was a young man dressed in tattered robes. It was clear he was trying to look like a wizard, but the patched, ill-fitting robes only accentuated his poverty and distress.

Vaughn carefully sensed it and found that the magical aura on his body was mixed and weak, even weaker than that of a third-year student at Hogwarts.

All of this indicates that he is a wild wizard... someone who has never been to school and has not received a formal magic school education.

Such people are not uncommon in the werewolf nomad community.

Their werewolf virus is usually inherited from their wizard father or mother.

The werewolf virus can be transmitted from mother to child. If both parents are werewolves, their offspring will be born werewolves. If one parent is a werewolf, their offspring may be werewolves (Lupin once worried that his child with Tonks would be a werewolf).

Their parents are usually from other countries and are not registered with the local Ministry of Magic, or the wizarding parents from the home country deliberately conceal their and their children's information.

Therefore, after these children awakened their magical abilities, alchemical artifacts such as the "Book of Admission" that could record information about children with magical talents did not include them; they could only learn magic from their parents.

This naturally leads to a wide range of skill levels among wild wizards.

James Brown looked very moved and gave Vaughn an awkward bow: "Thank you for your mercy and generosity, Mr. Weasley!"

Vaughn nodded to him: "You're welcome, Mr. Brown."

Vaughn then looked at Remus Lupin, a middle-aged man as down on his luck as William White. His wool coat was almost faded from washing, and there were several hideous scars on his face, but he had a gentle demeanor and a somewhat depressed air, as if he were deeply mired in some kind of sorrow.

He stepped forward and bowed in the same manner as William and James, though he was much more reserved than James.

"Hello... Mr. Weasley!"

Vaughn could sense Lupin subtly scrutinizing him, examining his red hair as if trying to guess his identity and purpose.

What a vigilant and righteous guy!

Vaughn chuckled, ignoring the subtle scrutiny, and turned to Barnald Jr. and William, asking, "How many people did you gather in total? Is the arrangement adequate?"

"There are over 600 people in total, sir. After contacting you yesterday, we accepted another tribe. Now everyone is waiting in a park in the suburbs. Remus and several other wizards have enchanted our tents. They are spacious and will not be discovered by Muggles."

"Very good." Vaughn nodded, took a small bag from his satchel, and handed it to Barnald Jr.: "There are tens of thousands of pounds in here. Take good care of them."

These pounds were accumulated over the past few years by selling potions. In the wizarding world, pounds are practically worthless. Gringotts, the only place that can exchange pounds for Galleons, only has a limited quota each year due to its contract with Hogwarts, which forces it to give a certain amount to young wizards from Muggle families.

In the past, when Vaughn needed to buy Muggle equipment, he would occasionally allow a batch of potions to be paid for in pounds sterling. Whenever that happened, the potions would be quickly snapped up – Gringotts was said to have taken the opportunity to sell off a lot of “waste paper”.

Little Barnal said hastily, "I haven't received the money you gave me last time..."

"Here you go. I saw you mention before that many people brought their children, so I'm buying food for everyone!"

"..." Little Barnal stopped refusing and silently accepted it.

Having resolved the "funding" issue, Vaughn continued, "There's another reason I called you here. The location has been roughly decided. Before you arrived, the Minister of Magic basically agreed to hold the investiture ceremony in Diagon Alley, two days from now in the morning. You can go there in advance through the Leaky Cauldron... Mr. Brown, Mr. Lupin, you two will lead the other wizards and be responsible for organizing everyone, okay?"

Seemingly excited at the prospect of leading a team of over 600 people to participate in such a momentous event, James Brown's nose flushed red, and he quickly nodded, saying, "No problem, Mr. Weasley."

Remus Lupin nodded as well.

Neither Barnard Jr. nor William, both Muggle-born, objected to his arrangement.

They rubbed their hands excitedly, both delighted by the prospect of free wolfsbane medicine and apprehensive about whether it would really work out, as their fate had never been in their own hands before!

Vaughn gave them some more instructions, and seeing that it was getting late, he let them leave.

As he quietly slipped out the back door through the Three Brooms, Barnal whispered to Lupin, "Lupin, I've been meaning to say this for a while now, you should show more respect to Mr. Weasley."

Perhaps those with simple minds are more perceptive; he could sense that Lupin seemed to have some reservations about Vaughn.

This displeased Barnal, who already disliked Lupin—Lupin had approached them to join their team on his own initiative; a few days earlier, when Barnal was persuading a tribe in Yorkshire, this fellow had suddenly come to them.

Everyone agreed to let him join their group because he was a wizard, but soon Barnard discovered that this guy was intentionally or unintentionally trying to find out what Mr. Weasley's purpose was.

If they hadn't been unable to use the fireplace and needed someone to Apparate them to Hogsmeade, Barnard Jr. would never have let Lupin come along.

Lupin gave a mumbled reply, and as he walked out of Hogsmeade Village, he patted his pockets and suddenly slapped his forehead: "Oh no, I might have dropped my wand on the way. I'll go back and look for it. You guys hide over at the Shrieking Shack, I'll come find you in a bit."

"you……"

William pulled Barnal back, gazed at Lupin for a moment, and nodded: "Alright, we'll wait for you."

As Lupin turned to leave, he added, "Lupin, hundreds of people are waiting in London. Everyone wants an answer. This is the first time in years I've seen werewolves working together towards a common goal instead of fighting amongst themselves. Do you understand?"

Lu Ping paused for a moment, but ultimately remained silent.

He returned to the three brooms, gently pushed open the door he had deliberately left ajar when he left, and tiptoed up to the second floor.

The door to the private room was closed, and Lupin silently uttered "Alaho Open."

The lock cylinder twitched slightly under the power of the spell, and the door opened a crack.

Lupin peered inside and saw the landlady, Rosmerta, sitting expressionlessly in a chair with three brooms, while Vaughn held a wand and was chanting a spell over her head.

Magic extracted strands of translucent memories from her mind. With a gentle wave of Vaughn's wand, the threads twirled and shifted, revealing indistinct images that were slightly altered before being pushed back in.

"As expected, it's Legilimency, a memory magic..."

Thinking it over, Lupin’s eyes turned cold. He pushed open the door and pointed his wand at Vaughn’s back.

Vaughn, who was modifying Rosmerta's memories, seemed completely unsurprised, simply saying, "Wait a moment, it'll be done soon."

"I know her. I knew something was wrong with her the moment she opened the door for us... What did you do to Ms. Rosmerta?"

Pointing his wand at Vaughn without letting up, Lupin said coldly, "Your behavior is a disgrace to the Weasley name. Do Arthur and Molly know that?"

Vaughn ignored him.

As his wand flicked and trembled, the last wisp of memory was modified. He carefully manipulated the spells, slowly stuffing them back into Lady Rosmerta's head.

Once everything was finished, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Adults' memories and thoughts are indeed much more complex."

He leaned close to Rosmerta's ear and whispered, "Darling, come downstairs. The drinks and snacks have already been served to the private rooms upstairs. Do you want to take a nap while there aren't many customers? Everything that just happened was just a bizarre dream in your sleep..."

"It's...drowsiness...a dream..."

Rosmerta murmured to himself as he walked out of the private room.

Vaughn watched her leave before turning to Lupin with a satisfied smile and saying, "My memory magic wasn't bad, was it?"

"..." Lupin's expression grew increasingly serious, his wand pointing directly at him, trembling slightly from the force he exerted.

"Hmm, I thought you were going to chant a spell to stop me."

"That would only harm Rosmerta. I also know a little memory magic!"

Vaughn shrugged, took a sip of his drink, and then stared at Lupin curiously: "From what you just said, you actually know my mom and dad... Oh right, I almost forgot, you were in the Order of the Phoenix."

The Order of the Phoenix is ​​a secret society established by Dumbledore to combat the Death Eaters.

Ten years ago, after Socketman was killed by a 1-year-old Harry Potter, the Order of the Phoenix disbanded.

Because of Molly's frequent pregnancies, Arthur and Molly did not join the original Order of the Phoenix, but they had many connections with it. Even Molly's two brothers, Fabian Prewitt and Gideon Prewitt, joined the original Order of the Phoenix, but were killed by five Death Eaters before the war ended.

Lupin frowned. Had Arthur and Molly told him this?

"Don't frown, dear Remus," Vaughn smiled. "Mom and Dad haven't talked to us about the past, but I have other sources... Want a drink? This butterbeer hasn't been touched..."

"That's enough!"

Lupin interrupted him in a deep voice, "State your purpose, Vaughn Weasley. Don't try to fool me with the same rhetoric you used to deceive William and Barnard."

"Hmm—" Vaughn pondered, "So, you think I'm lying to them?"

Lupin scoffed: "Otherwise what? I heard Barnal repeating what you said. You told them that Fudge harbored malicious intentions, that the Ministry of Magic was unreliable, and that once the Ministry of Magic took control of the Wolfsbane Potion, everyone would become a puppet of politicians."

"Am I not telling the truth?"

"Conjectured facts!" Lupin exclaimed angrily. "These are things that haven't happened yet; you're just using them as an excuse to achieve your ulterior motives!"

Vaughn did not get angry or defend himself in response to his question. Instead, he countered, "Remus, then tell me, did you sign the 'Werewolf Registration Act'?"

Lupin was speechless.

He certainly didn't sign it, otherwise he wouldn't be living a peaceful and secluded life in Yorkshire.

"You should know what that registration is. It's different from Muggle registration. It records not only your images and names, but also your magic and wands, your blood and hair, and even your magical oaths..."

Vaughn's smile deepened as he spoke, staring intently at Lupin: "The 'Registration Act' has been around for many years, but it has never been implemented. Remus, please tell me why?"

What else could it be but the fact that any werewolf who signs the registration law will never have any freedom again?

Even life and death are in the hands of the Ministry of Magic—for wizards, having blood and hair is enough to satisfy the requirements of some ancient curses!

Unless the werewolves have gone mad, no one will sign!

Vaughn continued, "Yes, what I told Barnald and the others was all my speculation, but Remus, do you really think it's impossible?"

The series of questions left Lupin speechless. He also lacked the standing and confidence to guarantee that the Ministry of Magic wouldn't do that!

Seeing Lupin's stunned expression, Vaughn maintained his friendly and composed demeanor, gesturing with his hand: "Please come in and sit down. If you have any questions, we can talk about them."

Lupin did not respond immediately.

The air was quiet, save for the crackling sound of the flames licking the firewood in the fireplace.

After a long pause, Lupin said coldly, "You still haven't answered my first question: what did you do to Rosmerta?"

There's nothing wrong with saying this.

Vaughn frankly stated, "A little hypnosis and memory manipulation; she has some kind of relationship with our dear Minister Fudge; I can't let her know about our meeting."

Hearing this, Lupin finally put down his wand: "Then what are you planning to do by sending those wandering werewolves to Diagon Alley? Have you considered what might happen if you send those poor souls to march in Diagon Alley? What if they clash with the Ministry of Magic or the Aurors...?"

"We won't clash with the Aurors!" Vaughn interrupted his question.

"What?"

"You'll find out then." Vaughn gave a slightly mischievous smile, then leaned back in his chair and said, "I haven't hidden my purpose. I just want the magical world to see what kind of living conditions wandering werewolves actually have. I hope to fight for a fair outcome for werewolves. If I had to say, personal motives..."

He thought for a moment, "Does making myself more famous count?"

"...?"

A question mark slowly surfaced in Lupin's mind, but he could tell that Vaughn wasn't lying.

He was at a loss for what to do.

He could certainly raise his wand again and cast a spell, but what then?

Thinking of William's words when he returned, Lupin hesitated for a long time, opened his mouth, and had many things he wanted to say, but couldn't say them.

His mind is in a mess!

At this moment, Vaughn, who was smiling at Lupin, saw the whole world in black and white, with only Lupin's human figure silhouette shining with the brilliance of thought.

The light was distorted and chaotic; intense mental activity had turned the colors of the light into a jumbled mess.

He looked at him for a moment, then dismissed him, saying, "Go back, Remus. William and the others are waiting for you. Once you're back, you can put aside your prejudice against me and carefully observe those wandering werewolves before deciding whether you still want to question me."

"Or, you could think about why they were willing to listen to me simply because I had ordinary vagrants like Barnald and William deliver a message?"

"Let's leave it at that for now. I hope our relationship will change when we meet next time. You have to understand, I actually really hate it when people point wands at me..."

As he spoke, Vaughn raised his hand and waved it gently.

The air vibrated violently, and the solidified air mass pushed Lupin out of the private room. The door slammed shut, and the air mass dissipated in the corridor, creating a gust of wind for a few seconds. Lupin was only able to stand up after the curse had completely dissipated.

He stared in astonishment at the tightly closed door:

"Was that... a flight spell?"

(End of this chapter)