Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 86 The Treasure Vault and Learning Apparition

Early in the morning, Vaughn woke up from his sleep.

The kitchen downstairs was already filled with clanging and clattering sounds; it was Shan Shan busy with housework. Since the day before yesterday, this little sprite had displayed an astonishing enthusiasm.

"Mr. Weasley has healed the young master, and Madam can finally rest in peace. Shiny will repay Mr. Weasley on Madam's behalf!"

This is what she has repeated the most these past two days.

After washing up in the second-floor washroom, it was just getting light.

Vaughn stepped out of the small building, breathing in the fresh morning air filled with dew and the scent of earth, and strolled around the Muggle community.

To conceal his son's existence, Crouch naturally chose a place to live that was secluded and had few people.

The community is next to a park. Warn walked along the path, over the rolling hills of the park, and even saw a relatively private golf course on the other side.

These kinds of places that cater to the wealthy are always built with a human touch, with a wide lawn shimmering in the rising morning light and lush green belts blocking the view from the outside world, just a wall away.

Vaughn nodded.

What a wonderful place!

After scouting the location, Vaughn returned to Crouch's house, where Sparkle had already prepared breakfast. Upon seeing him, she greeted him warmly, "Dear Mr. Weasley, Sparkle made your favorite pie, beef gravy with peas."

"There aren't any potatoes, are there?"

Vaughn expressed his deep loathing for potatoes, a favorite food of the English!

Shining had clearly taken his likes and dislikes to heart, and said enthusiastically, "Of course not, Shining gave all the potatoes to the master!"

Crouch, who was tucking his napkin into his hand at the table, stared into deep thought at the small pie and enormous amount of fries on his plate.

Vaughn enjoyed the breakfast quite a bit. To be fair, Silence's cooking skills were pretty good, at least much better than Molly's and the house-elves of Hogwarts.

This made Vaughn suddenly realize that buying a Pokémon might not be so bad after all...

After lunch and a cup of English morning tea, Crouch went to work, and Vaughn also began his "work."

Sparkle led them to the basement, where Crouch sat quietly in his iron cage, motionless.

Sparkle looked at him, sobbing, and asked, "Mr. Weasley, when can our little master come out? Sparkle has already prepared a room for him. He hasn't slept in a warm bed in a long time, he must miss it so much..."

"We still need to observe, Sparkle."

Vaughn replied, took out his wand, and casually transformed a chair into a soft wool cushion, sitting down opposite Crouch.

Knowing that "Mr. Weasley" was treating his young master, Shiny didn't dare to disturb him and quietly Apparated away. Vaughn also composed himself and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he was at Hogwarts.

Barty Crouch Jr.'s memories of Hogwarts!

A hazy white light, belonging to memories, enveloped the ancient castle. Vaughn looked around; he had appeared at the covered bridge at the back of the castle leading to the Forbidden Forest.

There was nothing else around except a thin, somewhat introverted boy sitting on the edge of the high covered bridge, his legs dangling out, looking down at the cliff and the lake below.

Vaughn walked over to him: "Barty, looking at the scenery again?"

The boy raised his head, glanced at him, then lowered his head again: "Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore."

Indeed, in Barty's eyes at this moment, Vaughn is Dumbledore, just as he appeared here yesterday.

The boy in front of me is Barty Crouch Jr.'s personality—a memory within a memory, devoid of intelligence and unable to communicate.

So Vaughn used a personification technique to control and deceive Barty Jr.'s true personality, trapping him in his memories.

Vaughn is trying to see if this is a way to get Barty to open up.

He has no clue how to reverse a soul corrupted by dark magic. For now, he can only try to indirectly influence the personality through memories, and then trace the essence of Barty's dark side from the personality.

This idea comes from Vaughn's experience practicing the Patronus Charm.

Dumbledore believed in the "power of love," and that was not just empty talk. In the world of magic, spells such as the Patronus Charm use "love," or rather, the beautiful and positive side of a person.

Vaughn also believes that no one is truly born evil, and everyone should have a pure place within their heart.

The Pure Land is very difficult to change. Vaughn believes it is the opposite of darkness. If it could be found and its power invoked, it might be able to combat the corruption of dark magic.

However, for some people, the "pure land" in their hearts may be suppressed to a very weak degree due to factors such as their upbringing, black magic, etc.

So faint as to be hard to find.

Barty Jr. is not like Harry, who lacked life experience. He is a middle-aged man with over 30 years of accumulated memories in his mind. Not to mention, his mind has long been twisted by dark magic.

Black magic rendered most of his memories ambiguous, bizarre, and dangerous.

This period of life at Hogwarts was a relatively stable memory that Vaughn had finally managed to find.

Vaughn sat down beside the boy and patiently talked to him: "When people are troubled and in pain, they always like to find a quiet place to think alone and lick their wounds... Buddy, what's troubling you?"

Little Barty didn't answer, but stretched out his leg from the walkway and swayed slowly in the air.

After a long pause, he finally asked, "Headmaster Dumbledore, we're in my dream right now, aren't we?"

"Hmm? Why do you think that?"

"Because I remember you never spoke to me privately, but these past two days, wherever I went, you always seemed to appear before me..."

Vaughn remained silent; by inserting Barty Crouch Jr. into this memory, he was attempting to mold it into Barty Crouch Jr.'s dream.

When people are dreaming, they are usually not rational and are most likely to let their guard down.

He smiled gently and said, "Of course, Barty, you can treat this place as a dream, a fantasy. Here, you can tell me anything you want to say or think."

Little Barty looked up at him, remained silent for a long while, and said in a low voice:

"I bombed my exam, and my dad was furious... He demanded that I get 12 O's in OWLs, but I didn't."

OWLs are the standard wizarding level exams. Generally, you can pass if you get an A (Acceptable), then an E (Exceed Expectation), and the highest is O (Outstanding).

"But you passed 12, which is already quite remarkable."

Vaughn mimicked Dumbledore's tone, looking at Barty Jr. with a dark, probing gaze, and said, "In my entire coaching career, only Tom Riddle has achieved better results than you!"

Upon hearing the name Tom Riddle, the dejected Barty suddenly covered his head.

"Barty, what's wrong?" Vaughn asked with concern.

"Principal... my head hurts so much..."

As Little Barty's headache worsened, dark clouds suddenly filled the sky.

Vaughn looked up at the suddenly appearing clouds, which pressed down from the horizon with flashes of lightning, and soon approached Hogwarts.

A thunderous roar swept overhead.

Vaughn remained calm; this was all intentional. Little Barty's personality was merely being manipulated, not his memories being erased. Mentioning someone he had a deep and emotional connection with would trigger the awakening of his memories.

Without a doubt, Voldemort holds an extraordinary place in Barty Jr.'s heart.

Vaughn's eyes lit up slightly, and his voice softened, filled with a trustworthy warmth: "Barty, do you remember Tom Riddle?"

As he spoke, Little Barty's eyes became blank.

"……Remember……"

What's your impression of him?

"He...is more like my father than my own father..."

"Then, are you willing to open your heart to him? Tell your master where your most revered Dark Lord hides your joy and happiness?"

"I……"

Little Barty clutched his head again, groaning in pain.

Vaughn grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at him, the glint in his eyes growing stronger. "Barty, look who I am?"

Little Barty was confused for a moment, then his young and innocent face lit up with ecstasy.

He suddenly grabbed Vaughn's leg: "Headmaster? Master? Is that you, Master?"

"Yes, little Barty, answer my question, where is your joy and happiness hidden?"

"Yes, Master, I think... I think... I'll remember..."

The dark clouds in the sky dissipated, and amidst Barty's nervous murmurs, the Hogwarts of his memories was once again shrouded in a hazy light.

Vaughn took a step back, and the scene instantly changed; he appeared in front of Crouch's ancestral home.

The old building was still there, its doors wide open. The interior was no longer pitch black, but filled with a hazy light just like the Hogwarts Castle we had just left.

In the center of the house, the adult Barty Crouch Jr. stands there with his eyes closed.

His eyes rolled violently, as if he were experiencing a deep and intense dream.

A humanoid cloud of mist coiled around him, like a parasite, with wisps of mist extending from its surface and penetrating deep into Barty Crouch Jr.'s body.

As Little Barty's eyelids remained tightly closed, his eyeballs moved more and more frequently, and a thread of mist was pulled out of his body.

What followed was a memory image shrouded in black mist.

In the scene, Barty and several others were waving wands and chanting spells at a couple at their feet. The incantations were transmitted through the black mist, sounding somewhat distorted.

"Extremely painful!"

The couple screamed in agony, but little Barty was excited, furious, and enjoying the torment: "Longbottom, tell me, where have you hidden my master?"

The couple didn't answer, or rather, Barty Jr. didn't care whether they answered or not.

He just wanted to hear their screams!

"Extremely painful!"

Vaughn watched the entire torture process expressionlessly, then stuffed the memory back into Little Barty's body.

"Failed again... This time, the guidance was more successful than yesterday's Dumbledore's concern and care. It quickly induced Barty to recall his memories, but it wasn't what I wanted."

"His mind, twisted by dark magic, has even distorted his definition of emotions... His current happiness and joy are a perverse pleasure accompanied by killing and torture, and have nothing to do with the 'Pure Land'..."

Despite his thoughts, Vaughn was not discouraged.

As he told Crouch, this was a long-term project, and he didn't expect to find a solution anytime soon. All the current attempts were just trial and error, accumulating experience for the future.

Vaughn glanced again at the personification device that was parasitizing Barty's real personality.

Just two days later, it has already turned gray.

Silently calculating, Vaughn withdrew from Barty's mind and returned to the basement.

Inside the enormous iron cage, Barty Crouch Jr. remained seated, seemingly oblivious to everything. Vaughn pulled out his notebook and began recording the experiment he had just conducted:

"The fourth experiment failed. It is certain that the corruption of dark magic is all-encompassing, even distorting and skewing the definition of emotions... For the next experiment, we can consider choosing Mr. or Mrs. Crouch."

Vaughn paused here.

Is it inappropriate to use dead people?

However, this conscience only lasted for a moment before he forgot about it.

"...Mrs. Crouch may have had a more positive impact on Barty Jr.'s life. Let's try to find memories related to Mrs. Crouch first..."

"The personality implant still needs further improvement, especially in terms of contamination prevention and filtration. In less than three days, the personality implanted in Little Barty's brain has already begun to show signs of decay. This timeframe is far too short, whether for treatment or personal use..."

In a lengthy notebook, spanning five or six pages, Warn recorded his observations and reflections from the experiment.

After resting for a while, we started again.

They didn't stop until evening.

When Crouch came home from get off work, he had just come out of the basement and was searching through Barty Crouch Jr.'s heavily polluted memories. It was a very arduous task, but it wasn't without its rewards.

For example, magic!

After dinner, Crouch, who was thinking of seeing his son, hadn't even spoken when Vaughn said, "Barty, do me a favor tonight."

"What?"

"I want to learn Apparition. Yesterday, I found his memories of practicing this magic in your son's brain, and I realized that I had completely forgotten to learn it."

Vaughn had indeed forgotten, mainly because he had been at Hogwarts all along, and Hogwarts, along with a large area around it, was shrouded in the Anti-Apparition Charm, making it impossible to study there.

Crouch was speechless for a moment, then hesitated. "Should we wait a while? This is a Muggle community. Even though I deliberately chose a secluded spot, there are still a lot of Muggles here..."

Vaughn interrupted him: "There's a golf course nearby. I checked it out this morning. It's very private, and there are no Muggles around at night, which is perfect for me to practice."

He paused, then added, "By the way, I also need to practice Fiendfyre and minor curses. Little Barty's brain is truly a treasure trove of dark magic... By the way, you know how to use All Curses to End, right?"

Crouch wanted to say he couldn't.

Apparition was one thing, but to actually want to practice dark magic... He couldn't imagine what would happen if something went wrong or an accident occurred.

But... he can't refuse Vaughn right now!

That night, Crouch went out again and returned with several bottles of potions.

They were packaged in dropper bottles, which were very small and contained only about a mouthful.

"This is Dictamnus dasycarpus extract, a very potent therapeutic agent..."

Crouch attempted to introduce it.

Vaughn interrupted him, saying, "I know what it is, Barty. Don't forget, I'm a pharmacist."

"Oh... I always forget... Your age always makes me... I'm sorry!" Crouch said dryly.

Vaughn picked up a bottle of white succinate and examined it under the light.

Looking at the sparse amount of essential oil soaking the leaves and roots in the small dropper bottle, he said with a hint of disdain, "Cheap workmanship. How much did you pay?"

"...10 Galleons."

"Tsk!" Vaughn hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped himself.

He knew why Crouch had prepared the White Essence; it was to prevent the splitting of the body, which was the most dangerous accident during Apparition practice.

Specifically, the Apparition spell succeeds, but only part of the wizard's body is teleported away, while the other part remains in place or flies away to an unknown location.

Throughout history, countless wizards have proven the dangers of splitting their bodies with their blood and lives. Their bizarre methods of splitting their bodies have even been compiled into a thick book in the magical world.

Dictamnus dasycarpus extract is currently the best known option for dealing with split products. Its raw material is Dictamnus dasycarpus—unlike the Rutaceae plant of the same name that Muggles are familiar with. Dictamnus dasycarpus, from which the extract can be obtained, is a magical herb.

Its own magic endows it with super healing effects, which can help wizards heal wounds quickly when the split occurs.

The prerequisite is that the wizard can find his separated body and put it back together.

This is why Vaughn asked Crouch to help him practice Apparition. Although Vaughn thought it was unlikely that he would split into two, having someone to watch over him would at least prevent the worst-case scenario from happening.

Late at night, Vaughn took Crouch to the place he had chosen, a golf course not far away.

The stadium was pitch black as dawn approached, and the Muggles had long since finished their shifts.

However, the two cautious individuals still deliberately chose a relatively secluded, flat lawn, walked around it, and waved their wands to cast spells such as banishment charms and peace-guarding spells to protect against Muggles.

After casting the spell, the two returned to the center of the lawn. Crouch chuckled to himself, "The Ministry of Magic stipulates that to learn the Apparition Charm, a wizard must be an adult and require instruction from a Ministry-licensed instructor... I've broken at least 20 laws today!"

Vaughn shrugged: "The day you brought Barty the Younger out of Azkaban, you broke every single law of the Ministry of Magic!"

Crouch shut his mouth in frustration.

After a long pause, he finally asked hesitantly, "Is there anything else to prepare? Shall we begin?"

"Nothing needs to be prepared, let's begin!"

After more than a month of testing, Vaughn gradually discovered that as the Ironclad Charm and Disarm Charm reached the maximum level of LV5, there were actually some subtle hidden effects outside of the two spells.

Casting any spell requires the manipulation of magic and emotions, and the two max-level spells gave Vaughn a lot of similar experience out of thin air.

Now, he can summon magic more quickly than before, and his emotional output is more stable.

Specifically, this means he is less likely to make mistakes when casting spells now.

This will greatly help him learn new spells, so there really isn't much to prepare.

Crouch nodded, walked about three meters away, and drew a circle on the grass with his wand: "The most important secret of Apparition is the three Ds. The first one is Destination."

He pointed to the circle drawn next to him and said, "Now, focus your attention on this circle. Don't waver, hesitate, or get distracted. Let it fill your vision and your mind..."

Vaughn listened attentively. Confidence and arrogance are two completely different attitudes. Even though he thought he was ready to learn spells, he still listened carefully.

This kind of content was not difficult for him, as he was a master of memory magic.

Soon, following Crouch's instructions, Vaughn cleared his mind of all distractions and focused all his attention on the circle, which was about one meter in diameter, imprinting its existence firmly in his heart.

"Secondly, determination. Gather your emotions, make your desire to occupy this circle, make your determination and resolve to traverse space, overwhelm your entire being, leaving no corner untouched..."

As Crouch explained, Vaughn easily mustered the appropriate emotions, suppressing all other feelings in that instant.

He only felt a surge of desire and determination welling up in his mind.

Thoughts and emotions affected the body at that moment; the heart pumped violently, sending blood to every part of the body.

My body felt slightly warm, and my mind was both clear and slightly dizzy from excitement.

His hearing, which was gradually becoming hazy, heard Crouch say the last D: "Deliberation. Are you starting to feel warm all over? Now, release your magic, raise your wand and spin in place. During this process, pay attention to maintaining your current emotional state and the flow of magic. Note, deliberation, don't be too tense or too relaxed, it must be steady and calm... Listen to my command, count to three, one!"

Following Crouch's instructions, Vaughn unleashed his magic and spun around in place.

Crouch had just calmly and steadily completed a full circle when he said "one".

Then, something incredible happened. In Vaughn's perception, he "saw" ripples spreading around him as he spun. The ripples were not caused by air or magic, but by something else, which might not have any form of matter or energy at all, but was a conceptual thing.

"space……?"

The thought flashed through my mind in an instant.

"two!"

With complete concentration, Vaughn tried to control himself, focusing, determined, and composed, spinning faster and faster.

The ripples around it grew stronger and stronger, so fast that they resembled water being whipped by a gale, or a transparent plastic sheet that had caught a falling iron ball, bounced back, and vibrated continuously.

"three!"

As Crouch's last utterance faded.

Vaughn's spin and the ripples around him seemed to have crossed a certain critical point in that instant.

Crackling sound—

The "space" shattered, and Vaughn felt as if he had crashed into a narrow pipe. Everything in front of him quickly became bizarre and surreal, everything was stretched and distorted, and the whole world seemed to have turned into a giant washing machine.

And he was in it, spinning wildly around a center.

(End of this chapter)