Chapter 102: Vaughn’s Destiny And Ron The Splatoon Player
The wizards after the promulgation of the Statute of Secrecy buried their heads in the sand like ostriches.
They were lost in the false peace and prosperity exchanged for concessions, singing and lamenting the hardships of life, immersed in the material wealth bestowed by magic, living dissolutely, dreaming of eternal peace and isolation!
Yet they ignored that only competition could bring progress. From a macroscopic historical perspective, the idea of “survival of the fittest” has permeated the history of human development—
No nation or group has ever gained a chance for survival through constant compromise and concession; those who cannot be born from hardship will ultimately be eliminated.
Of course, in essence, Vaughn was not someone who cared about the survival of the wizarding world.
All along, all he pursued was magic.
“Guo Guo Cha, I love magic, I yearn to understand all its secrets, truths, knowledge, and power!”
He suddenly spoke, and Guo Guo Cha, lying beside him, slightly raised its head, listening to Vaughn’s voice.
“I yearn to one day unravel the mystery of magic’s origin, to reach the end of magic and see what this world truly looks like from the highest peak… but I know I cannot do it alone!”
Human effort has its limits.
Even with the system, Vaughn did not believe he could push magic to its extreme by himself.
“I need people to help me, the more the better. The development of any knowledge system must rely on collective strength and wisdom, but the current wizarding world cannot achieve this…”
“The current wizarding world is inefficient and disorganized. Hundreds of years of false peace have made everyone lose their sense of urgency and collective spirit. They lack identification with a unified will, and even more so, they lack competitive spirit.”
“Guo Guo Cha, I knew long ago that if I wanted to delve deeper into the path of magic, I had to change the wizarding world!”
Guo Guo Cha couldn’t help but snuggle into Vaughn’s arms, “Meow~”
Vaughn glanced at it and smiled:
“Yes, it’s very difficult… but fortunately, the era we live in is a crucial juncture, and the Muggle society is about to experience an information revolution.”
“The Internet is profoundly impacting the world. In just a few years, mobile phones and mobile networks will become widespread. Under the increasingly rapid technological progress of Muggles, the maintenance of the Statute of Secrecy will become precarious.”
“In a few years, a photo, a video, will spread to every corner of the globe at a speed beyond your imagination. Even if the Ministry of Magic and Muggle governments cooperate to block information, as long as wizards have contact with Muggles and remain active in Muggle society, the cost of secrecy will inevitably increase, to the point where no one can bear it, and cooperation will collapse!”
“In my opinion, the future evolution of the wizarding world has only two directions. The first is that the wizarding world completely severs ties with Muggle society, all wizards gather in a few villages, no one is allowed to enter Muggle society again, and Hogwarts stops admitting students…”
His voice grew lower and then stopped.
He lowered his head and looked into Guo Guo Cha’s upward-gazing eyes.
He reached out and scratched its chin, and Guo Guo Cha hugged his hand, purring softly.
Vaughn’s voice was deep, “That’s right, Guo Guo Cha, I don’t like that kind of future. From the beginning, I will only choose the second evolutionary direction—abolish the Statute of Secrecy, integrate the wizarding world, take the initiative, and forcibly push for the merger of the wizarding world and Muggle society!”
“And this choice, war is inevitable!”
As someone who considered himself more of a researcher, Vaughn disliked politics, and naturally, he disliked war even more.
But the frustrating part was that if he wanted to push magic to its extreme, he needed to integrate the wizarding world, and even expand its power.
Abolishing the Statute of Secrecy, promoting the merger of wizards and Muggles, and popularizing magic to improve the defect of a sparse wizarding population were imperative.
And such changes would undoubtedly lead to a series of conflicts.
Conflicts of ideas, conflicts of interests, and perhaps even conflicts over the right to survival of species!
Even in Muggle society, when a country wants to rise, it attracts wolves from all sides. How much more so for wizards, who are vastly different from ordinary humans, almost another species?
As soon as Muggles know of the existence of wizards and magic, whether out of fear or greed, Muggles and wizards will inevitably repeat a scene from hundreds of years ago.
This is the inherent flaw of humanity, unchanged from ancient times to the present.
Long ago, Vaughn also considered a peaceful evolution. He had once envisioned using Memory Magic to alter the thoughts of Muggle leaders and use the control of the Muggle government to minimize the negative impact of integration.
Unfortunately, after experiments and consideration, this idea had to be abandoned.
Firstly, the magical conditions were not met. Apart from the Obliviation Charm, the effects of Memory Magic were not permanent. The human memory system seemed to have a “backup” like concept in the soul; the more it was modified, the more likely it was to trigger a correction mechanism.
The Imperius Curse, which directly affects the soul, could achieve permanent control. However, as a Dark Art, its contamination and high mana consumption were difficult problems.
Another reason was that issues that determined the fate of humanity, such as the merger of wizards and Muggles, were difficult for a few individuals to control the will of the masses.
Therefore, he later changed his approach and pushed for the establishment of the Werewolf Affairs Committee, thereby actively participating in the politics of the wizarding world.
Compared to Muggles, who are numerous and have complex social situations, wizards are undoubtedly simpler.
This has nothing to do with morality or ideological awareness; it is determined by the population base. There are only tens of thousands of wizards in all of England. Compared to the 60 million Muggle population in England, they naturally appear “simpler.”
But even in such a “simple” environment, Vaughn felt that it would be difficult for him to unify everyone’s thoughts and understanding in the future.
There would inevitably be stubborn proponents of the International Statute of Secrecy, such as the pure-blood families, and…
Dumbledore!
Confused thoughts jumped through his mind. While stroking Guo Guo Cha’s soft fur, Vaughn stared blankly at the canopy above.
Guo Guo Cha listened quietly to his murmurings:
“Dumbledore’s premonition of death is likely related to me. Our views are vastly different. It seems that in the future, I did not convince him, and ultimately we are not on the same path…”
“…What a pity!”
Sensing the complex emotions in Vaughn’s tone, Guo Guo Cha nudged its large head against Vaughn’s chin, rubbing gently.
“Meow meow~”
“I’m fine, just a little sad.”
The path of magic is somewhat lonely.
There were not many wizards whom Vaughn respected and regarded highly, and with long-term interaction, feelings were bound to develop.
Although he would not abandon his ideals and pursuits for the sake of feelings.
In a sense, he was also an idealist!
Of course, premonitions of death and foreseen destinies are all uncertain futures. Vaughn’s attitude towards destiny has always been to maintain reverence and then try to control it.
As the night deepened and lights-out time arrived, the magical flames in the dormitory gradually dimmed and extinguished.
In the darkness, only Vaughn’s open eyes still emitted the spiritual light of magic.
…
The painful Easter holiday ended, but no young wizards felt relieved. For the fifth-year students who had to take their OWLs and the seventh-year students who had to take their NEWTs, the end of the holiday meant they only had one month left.
Other year groups were not much better off. Professors did not want young wizards to advance through playing, and many had not completed the homework assigned before the holiday by the time it ended.
Among them were Harry and Ron.
Fortunately, Hogwarts did not have student representatives, and homework was usually collected by the professors themselves during class.
In the last few days of the holiday, the two of them rushed to complete their coursework for Monday and Tuesday after school started, such as for History of Magic, Herbology, Transfiguration, and Charms.
They had both put off their Potions homework until last.
Even after Hermione’s deduction, Harry and Ron knew that Professor Snape was not a bad person, but they still disliked him.
Especially on Tuesday, Harry returned to the Common Room in a furious mood.
Facing Hermione and Ron’s inquiries as to why he hadn’t gone for training, Harry retorted:
“I’ve never met a more annoying guy than that old bat! Today was supposed to be our turn to use the pitch, but he abused his Head of House privilege and assigned it to Slytherin!”
“That’s outrageous!”
Ron immediately echoed his indignation and offered a suggestion: “Didn’t you and Wood go to Professor McGonagall? Snape could get a permit, so she definitely could too.”
Speaking of this, Harry became a little discouraged, “Professor McGonagall was unwilling to issue one because Snape had told her beforehand that he had obtained her consent… I say, Professor McGonagall is too upright, how could she believe such a ridiculous excuse that Slytherin needs special training due to a last-minute change in tactics?”
Ron snorted, “Our Head of House is always like this, so upright it’s almost pedantic, which is why we get bullied…”
“Ronald!”
Hermione glared at him fiercely, and he quickly shut up and changed the subject, “Uh, it’s good not to train. Tomorrow is Defence Against the Dark Arts, so you’ll have time to finish your homework and won’t have to stay up late.”
Hearing this, Harry covered his forehead and looked at his two friends with distress, saying in a low voice, “I don’t want to go to Defence Against the Dark Arts.”
“Why?”
“You know, I always sympathized with Quirrell, and I always thought he was good to me. Turns out he was the one who cursed me and almost killed me. I… I’m worried I won’t be able to control my emotions!”
The three of them had already agreed not to alert him, to monitor Quirrell secretly, and to expose him once he couldn’t bear it any longer and tried to steal the Philosopher’s Stone.
At that time, with both human and material evidence, those adults would not be able to ignore it any longer.
At this point, Harry obviously couldn’t alert Quirrell.
Ron, who was always flexible in his thinking when it came to devious methods, quickly had an idea and suggested, “How about you take sick leave? We can go find Fred and George, and get a trick for skipping class. A squirt of three pints of blood, and even if you wanted to go to class, Madam Pomfrey wouldn’t agree.”
This suggestion, which would normally be vehemently rejected by Hermione, was now unanimously approved by the trio.
“Speaking of which, what have Fred and George been up to lately? They’ve been acting so secretive, they’re not even pulling pranks anymore. It feels like something is missing every day without their mischief.”
Harry shrugged, “I don’t know, I only see them during training.”
Hermione, however, replied, “They seem to be researching something. I think it’s quite good. Fred and George have a talent for alchemy. They’ve always been focused on pranks, which is a real waste.”
As they spoke, the three arrived outside the twins’ dormitory. The door was tightly closed, and a note was attached to it:
【This dormitory is undergoing a great experiment, please do not disturb! 】
Ron scoffed at this, and as he reached for the doorknob, he grumbled, “Great experiment? These two are up to their old tricks again AAAAAAHHHHHH!”
To Harry and Hermione’s astonishment, as Ron reached for the doorknob, his entire head of red hair exploded, he convulsed wildly, and fell to the ground.
The twins had caused trouble again!
A third-year student found Vaughn in the library and informed him of the news, relaying Professor McGonagall’s instructions to come to the Hospital Wing immediately.
When Vaughn arrived, before he even entered, he could hear Professor McGonagall’s characteristic Scottish accent shouting:
“…Reckless and lawless, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, I believe I have made it very clear to you that you are not allowed to conduct experiments in secret. If you cannot remember my words, then perhaps I should consider magically carving them into your brains!”
“Professor, we weren’t doing it in secret, we put up a warning on the door.”
“Don’t twist words, George Weasley. The dormitory is a place for rest, and any experiment that deviates from the classroom is…”
“Excuse me, Professor, I am Fred.”
“Fred Weasley, I believe I also said that you should raise your hand if you have a problem. Or perhaps, you no longer need hands?”
Professor McGonagall’s voice was filled with suppressed rage.
Vaughn could almost imagine her glaring with those sharp eyes, intimidating the twins into trembling.
Vaughn coughed and pushed the door open.
The Hospital Wing was almost full, with many fifth and seventh-year students almost living there to escape the heavy coursework.
At this moment, everyone was looking at the last bed. Ron lay on the bed with a green complexion, while Hermione and Harry stood by blankly.
At the foot of the bed, Professor McGonagall, just as Vaughn had imagined, her thin frame exuding immense presence, the twins huddled their shoulders and hung their heads under her furious gaze.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Professor McGonagall turned and, upon seeing Vaughn, her ashen face immediately improved, and her voice lowered several degrees:
“Mr. Weasley, please come over.”
The twins couldn’t help but look up, only to be immediately reprimanded by Professor McGonagall, “You two, stand properly and do not move until you admit your mistakes!”
The twins bared their teeth, their lips moving silently, muttering something. Vaughn didn’t need to guess, it was likely a complaint about preferential treatment.
It had always been like this since he was young, and Vaughn was long accustomed to it.
With a calm expression, Vaughn nodded at the suddenly softened Professor McGonagall and approached the sickbed. He looked at Ron and poked him with his finger.
It was hard.
“Professor, what happened?”
“Electric shock. Mr. Weasley, your two brothers were conducting a Muggle electricity experiment in their dormitory, and your brother, poor Ron Weasley, was struck by a powerful current… Oh, don’t worry too much, dear. He’s stiff all over because of muscle spasms caused by the current. Madam Pomfrey just gave him a large bottle of relaxant, and the potion hasn’t taken effect yet.”
Hearing about the electricity experiment, Vaughn couldn’t help but glance up at the twins.
Professor McGonagall quickly stated the reason for asking Vaughn to come:
“I wouldn’t normally bother you with this, but the two Mr. Weasleys said that the electricity experiment was a task you assigned them. Is that true?”
The twins stared intently at Vaughn.
On the other side of the sickbed, Hermione and Harry also looked up. Even the unconscious Ron suddenly opened his eyes, it was unclear if it was the relaxant taking effect, causing the orbicularis oculi muscles to relax, or if he was “dying with his eyes open.”
Vaughn’s face remained impassive, and he shook his head, “No, Professor.”
The twins’ eyes widened, and they exclaimed in unison with urgency, “Professor, he’s lying—”
“Silence, you two!” Professor McGonagall snapped, “You are truly incorrigible. I shouldn’t have believed your nonsense. I even dared to hope you would have a fraction of Vaughn’s honesty. Why can’t you learn from the good example of someone with the same surname, Weasley?”
The twins looked resentful.
Professor McGonagall no longer paid attention to them. She turned to Vaughn, “I’m sorry, child, you’re dismissed now. Go back and rest. You must be exhausted lately.”
Vaughn ignored the twins’ indignation and asked, “Professor, how do you plan to deal with these two liars?”
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips tightly and was about to say something when Harry behind them suddenly cried out, “Ron!”
They all turned back and saw that Ron, who had been stiff on the sickbed, was now like a soggy ball of dough, his limbs and mouth hanging limply.
Most chillingly, his chest began to collapse, and long sighs escaped his nostrils without any intake of breath.
Harry was terrified; he looked like he was about to die.
But Madam Pomfrey, who had rushed over, said these were minor issues, “Don’t worry, Harry, it’s the relaxant taking effect. The muscles supporting his lungs are completely relaxing… Oh, look at his eyes, wide open, pupils dilated, he’s still dreaming!”
“Professor McGonagall, could you conjure a trachea for me? Our little redhead temporarily needs a trachea to deliver air to his lungs. If possible, you’d better stay for a while longer, as some situations will require your Transfiguration skills later.”
Although Madam Pomfrey didn’t explicitly say it, Vaughn and Professor McGonagall knew what else would need help—there are many types of muscles in the human body, and one of them is called a… sphincter.
The relaxant was obviously very potent and not picky.
Since the muscles controlling the lungs were relaxed, the sphincters would probably not be spared either!
Vaughn did not want to witness that scene. Seizing the opportunity, he suggested, “Professor, please help treat Ron first. I’ll take these two back. We can discuss their punishment after you’re done. What do you say?”
Professor McGonagall hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. She also sent Hermione away, “Miss Granger, this is not a place for young ladies. You should go back with Vaughn… Potter, you stay and help!”
Not long after Vaughn and Hermione left the Hospital Wing with the twins, they faintly heard screams from the other side:
“Merlin above—”
“Jesus Christ!”
“Help, I can’t breathe!”
In the blink of an eye, several older students who had claimed to be seriously ill and refused to leave the Hospital Wing ran out screaming, seemingly healthy and disappearing.
The twins, who had been angry and reluctant to leave with Vaughn, exchanged glances and suddenly felt fortunate that they hadn’t stayed behind. They also felt a bit of schadenfreude.
“Poor little Ronnie, his reputation will spread throughout the school tonight.”
“That’s right, George. Perhaps we should give little Ronnie a nickname in advance.”
“Good idea, how about ‘Uncontrolled Warrior’? Or ‘Jetpack Hero’?”
The inherently optimistic twins forgot their anger in an instant.
They also forgot that they had just been reprimanded by Professor McGonagall a moment ago, and excitedly began to express concern for their brother.
Until Hermione couldn’t stand it anymore, “That’s enough from you two! Who caused Ron to be like this?”
“No, no, no, Hermione, we put up a warning on the door, and warned anyone who tried to open it!”
“Yes, Fred. Obviously, little Ronnie forgot the dangers of the world. And we, not only are we not wrong, but we have also taught Ronnie a lesson—in the magical world, don’t touch things casually!”
“Indeed, it’s truly touching, George!”
Hermione: “…”
Afterwards, all the way, Hermione didn’t speak to Fred and George again; she was afraid she would anger herself to death.
Vaughn also didn’t speak.
They arrived on the Eighth Floor, opened the Room of Requirement, and it summoned the study room he used the most.
It wasn’t until he closed the door that he looked at the twins and asked, “So, have you figured out a way to solve the problem of magic interfering with electricity?”
The twins, who were looking around with great interest, perked up at his words:
“Of course, such simple problems can’t stump us!”
“George, be humble. We are standing on the shoulders of giants; there’s nothing to be proud of. In fact, Vaughn, the magic radio you provided helped us a lot.”
“Yes, yes, it’s probably one-eighth of the credit!”
“I said, be humble. You can raise it a bit more, maybe one-seventh!”
“Alright, considering the alchemy materials Vaughn provided, we can barely raise it a little.”
Vaughn didn’t pay attention to the twins’ infuriatingly arrogant tone. He opened his satchel, took out the remaining alchemy materials and tools, and handed them over:
“Show me your ideas and solutions!”
“Ha, George, our dear brother doesn’t seem to believe us!”
“Then let him see, Fred!”
The twins completely forgot their initial reluctance when they accepted the task. They giggled, took the items, and enthusiastically prepared to get to work.
Watching the two begin to sort through materials and exchange ideas, Hermione leaned over to Vaughn and asked, “So, it really was you who assigned them this task?”
Facing Hermione, Vaughn no longer needed to lie. He said helplessly, “I originally just wanted to distract them, to keep them from thinking about pranks every day. In fact, I didn’t expect them to achieve results so quickly.”
Vaughn indeed hadn’t expected the twins to finish the task so soon.
The deadline he had given them was before the end of summer vacation. That deadline was calculated, and even in his opinion, it was a bit tight.
As they spoke, the twins had already finished checking the materials and tools.
Hermione, who had intended to ask something else, immediately became focused. She hadn’t studied alchemy yet, and this subject was full of mystery and unknown knowledge for her.
She held Vaughn’s arm, stood on her tiptoes to get a better look, and asked from time to time:
“What is that bowl-like tool?”
“A magic mortar, mainly used for grinding soft and fragile materials.” Vaughn replied. He was always patient with his girlfriend and even proactively introduced other tools. “That flask-like thing next to it is called a retort, used for mixing or purifying liquid materials. The closed metal cylinder is called a calciner, used for processing metal…”
Hermione listened with great interest. “So many tools and uses. Alchemy requires so many steps, but it feels a bit like potions?”
Vaughn nodded. “Potions are originally a branch of alchemy. Hundreds of years ago, the main job of alchemists was brewing potions. They also developed the initial potion system.”
Hearing Vaughn’s words, one of the busy twins gave him a thumbs-up. “A fair answer, dear brother. Many potioneers are unwilling to admit this history!”
Hermione asked curiously, “Why?”
The other proudly replied, “Of course, it’s because alchemy is grander and more inclusive, while potions are narrow and singular. Perhaps only someone like Snape would find stirring a pot with a stick aesthetically pleasing!”
Snape was being attacked as usual!
Before long, the twins assembled the tools, set up the cauldron, rubbed their hands, and began processing the materials while complacently explaining their concept:
“Although solving the problem of magic interfering with electricity was not very challenging, it was a bit difficult for us at first.”
“Just a little, George.”
“That’s right, just a little… We found that the generation of electricity itself is not a problem. The generator Vaughn provided us works fine. It’s only when electricity enters the circuit that the magic interference takes effect, causing the electricity to dissipate.”
“We spent two days, read several Muggle books, and initially understood the transmission of electricity and the force of electric fields. We discovered that the magic doesn’t interfere with electrons… Fred, is it called electrons?”
“Yes, George. Magic doesn’t interfere with electrons, but with the electric field.” Fred looked at Vaughn, showing a seemingly modest, but actually provocative smile. “Our genius brother, do you know what an electric field is?”
Vaughn glanced at him. He had asked the right person. “Simply put, an electric field refers to the force of interaction between charges. Going deeper, it involves concepts of quantum electrodynamics and virtual photons. If you want to understand, I suggest you study for a few more years!”
Fred: “…Darn it!”
George: “He wasn’t stumped after all!”
The two didn’t understand at all. They decided not to embarrass themselves further and began explaining their findings to Hermione: “…In short, the flow of current is determined by the electric field, and magic interferes with the electric field, which is why electricity fails at Hogwarts.”
“Once the cause of the problem is found, the rest is much easier. In fact, it’s not difficult to solve. The electric field is formed within these wires. We just need to find a material, like the insulation made by Muggles, to wrap the wires and weaken the magic’s influence on them.”
As they spoke, Fred and George selected a few plants and put them into the mortar. The enchanted pestle ground them quickly, soon turning them into a paste.
Looking at the plants and the resulting paste, Vaughn mused, “Milkweed…”
“Exactly. It’s the main component of the new insulation layer we invented… To put it simply, it’s still quite involved. We tried many materials that could extract gel, and finally found that only it has higher compatibility.”
“This is just the first step. Only magic can fight magic in this world. Materials that can shield magic don’t exist.”
“Just like nothing can shield gravity!”
“A precise analogy, George!”
“So we took a different approach. Since we can’t use magic to fight magic to avoid interference with the electric field, let’s make the magic ‘slide’ smoothly along the wires in the way we want, minimizing its interference with the electric field.”
While George was explaining, Fred poured several handfuls of metal powder into the calciner. After calcination, he poured the molten liquid metal into a cup of solution.
Vaughn recognized it as a mercury solution with just one glance.
The calcined liquid metal fell into the mercury solution. As Fred stirred, it gradually ‘dissolved’. When it finally cooled, a peculiar, golden paste appeared in the cup.
The twins held up the cup, struck a dramatic pose, and shouted:
“Ta-da! Mithril-Mercury Amalgam, the great invention of the Weasleys, highly compatible with magic, allowing magic to flow through it as smoothly as silk.”
“Weasley’s professional guarantee, absolutely no residue!”
Mercury （ Mercury ）, a fundamental substance to recognize in the first lesson of alchemy.
Because the birth of alchemy is closely related to it.
According to the history of alchemy development known to Vaughn, early alchemy was born because ancient people discovered that mercury could “dissolve” metals.
At that time, no one understood the principle of like dissolves like, let alone the concept of metal atoms “sharing” electron clouds.
Muggles could only regard this magical phenomenon as magic…
Wizards also thought it was magic, a kind of magic without the involvement of magic power!
Thus, the study of mercury quickly rose and was eventually named alchemy. The reason for this name was that wizards and Muggles at the time often dissolved gold powder in mercury and then used the gold-mercury solution produced by “dissolution” （ Amalgam ） Alchemy—Gold has inert chemical properties and exists only in its elemental form, making it difficult to react with other elements. Therefore, gold particles in gold ore are generally small and dispersed.
However, in modern times, mercury has actually been phased out.
On one hand, through years of research, wizards gradually understood that mercury was not a magical product.
On the other hand, with the rapid advancements in Muggle metallurgy and a series of metal trade agreements signed in modern times to appease goblins, wizards became accustomed to “benefiting from others’ efforts.”
The direction of alchemy’s development also shifted, no longer investing in metals—why waste effort on something that could be bought cheaply?
Little did they expect that something that had been eliminated would appear in the hands of the twins today.
However, Vaughn did not underestimate their creativity because the twins had “re-invented the wheel.”
He took the cup from the twins, brought it closer to the light, and carefully observed the peculiar solution inside, saying, “Are you planning to mix it into the insulation layer made from milkweed gel?”
“Exactly. Look, George, I knew our dear brother would understand our idea!”
“But he doesn’t understand enough!” George said indignantly.
“Yes, yes, not enough!” Fred’s eyebrows twitched, every expression seemingly showing his smugness.
Vaughn frowned slightly in thought.
Indeed, not enough!
Mithril is a magic-attracting metal, but not a magic-prohibiting or magic-absorbing one. Just as Muggles say metals conduct electricity, without a connection, electricity cannot be drawn from nowhere.
Both magic and science share the same logic—the objective conditions of matter require design and planning to achieve the desired effect.
He suddenly remembered the magic radio he had given the twins. In fact, before giving it to them, he had already conducted preliminary research on it.
However, due to his weak knowledge base in alchemy, Vaughn couldn’t figure out how the magic radio solved the problem of magic interfering with electricity.
He had only seen some… symbols inside the radio!
Thinking of this, Vaughn looked at the mithril-mercury amalgam in the cup again and suddenly realized, “It’s also the ink you prepared. Are you going to use it to draw alchemy symbols on the insulation layer?”
Hearing this, the twins, who had been winking at each other because they had finally stumped their brother, suddenly looked crestfallen:
“Damn it, he guessed it!”
“I think when we go back during the summer vacation, we’ll have to ask Mom and Dad to re-investigate how Vaughn could be Ron’s twin. Comparing the two, they are like different species!”
The twins were so exasperated that they couldn’t even be bothered to speak anymore. They took the mithril-mercury amalgam back from Vaughn’s hand, sat down on the floor grumbling, and closed their eyes.
Hermione, who was completely clueless about alchemy, looked at the twins curiously and asked Vaughn, “What are they doing?”
“They are meditating on symbols.”
“Meditating? Symbols?”
“Yes. Do you remember what Professor McGonagall said when she taught us Transfiguration? In the eyes of wizards, everything has a spirit. This is the key to transforming inanimate objects into living ones.”
Vaughn said slowly, “Alchemy has similar views. However, alchemy theory believes that all things were once a whole, so even though they have differentiated into their current forms, on a higher level, the world and all things still share a common soul called ‘Aether’.”
“‘Aether’ contains the secret of creation, a concept that cannot be expressed in words, and cannot even be formed into language or text. It can only exist as simple graphical symbols… The core of modern alchemy is alchemy symbols, which can help alchemists create all sorts of magical items, control magic, travel through space, and reverse time…”
As he spoke, Fred opened his eyes and happened to hear the last sentence. He happily agreed, “That’s right, my dear brother, alchemy is truly magical, great, and unparalleled!”
Hermione, who had been engrossed in writing in her notebook, looked up in astonishment. “Are you done meditating?”
“Done.”
“Then… the symbol? Can you draw it?”
Fred squinted his eyes, looking profound, and slowly replied in a low voice, “I can’t draw it. It’s only in my heart!”
“…”
Hermione puffed out her cheeks indignantly, thinking Fred was being mischievous again.
But Vaughn knew Fred wasn’t joking. He explained to Hermione, “Alchemy symbols are not language, much less text. They have no system, and there are no observable specific images.”
“In a sense, they are actually invisible, unreadable, inexpressible, and unwriteable. They are concepts or insights obtained by the soul when it roams ‘Aether’.”
Hermione listened, completely bewildered. This was somewhat beyond her scope of understanding things.
After frowning for a while, the girl ran her hand through her hair and looked at Vaughn in confusion. “You mean they don’t exist? But you said before they were simple graphics… It feels contradictory.”
“No, it’s not contradictory. They actually exist, within Fred’s soul. You could also say they don’t exist, because you can’t see them.”
“…Then how do you know?”
Vaughn did not answer, but merely smiled.
Why does alchemy require talent? Because without talent, one cannot even understand the basic concepts, let alone observe them.
At this moment, perhaps in Hermione’s eyes, Fred and George still looked the same as always, but in Vaughn’s eyes, they were radiating light—
Within the twins’ bodies, as the meditation ended, large areas of faint light points lit up. They connected to form a soft glow that enveloped their figures, as if they were draped in a veil woven from stars.
That “veil” formed a perfect circle, appearing both solid and ethereal.
This “circle” was the symbol the twins had brought back from Aether.
Vaughn’s knowledge of alchemy was limited to this. In alchemy, a circle can represent many things.
In the introductory alchemy books Vaughn had read, alchemy, which had developed over thousands of years, had 53 symbols.
Eleven of them were considered the fundamental framework of the world’s construction.
They represented the four elements and the seven metals respectively （ Gold, Silver, Iron, Mercury, Tin, Copper, Lead ）.
They were constant and had definite meanings in any school of alchemy.
In other words, apart from these 11 basic symbols, over the past thousands of years, alchemists used the remaining 42 symbols to explain and represent the relationships and changes between all things.
Therefore, in alchemy, each of those 42 symbols had a broad meaning.
As the discipline closest to Muggle technology within magic, alchemy was essentially more idealistic than magic. At least magic cannot create things out of thin air （ Magic cannot conjure food or any substance out of thin air. Spells like summoning spells are essentially transferring objects from elsewhere ）.
Alchemy, however, can.
Therefore, any knowledge in this discipline cannot be displayed externally. Fred’s statement that he couldn’t draw the symbol was not because he couldn’t draw the circle, but because it was meaningless.
Not only could Hermione not see the symbols Fred drew, but also because the meaning represented by the symbols could not be fully expressed through graphics.
Just as Vaughn could see it now, but he had no idea what the “circle” Fred and George had obtained from Aether represented.
After all, he was still a novice alchemist.
Not long after, George also woke up from his meditation. The twins didn’t delay any further and immediately got to work.
Fred took out his wand, chanted a spell, and drew a few circles in the air. Under the control of magic, the milkweed juice that had been ground in the mortar rapidly released water and condensed into a milky white gel.
