Chapter 87: Magic Power
The squeezing sensation of the “pipe” intensified with the rotation.
Perhaps only a second passed, or perhaps a long time, time seemed to lose meaning here, when Vaughn felt he could no longer resist the squeezing of the “pipe”—
He was ejected!
With another “crack,” as if something had exploded.
Vaughn fell.
Soft grass was under his feet, he shook his head, his vision swam for a few more seconds, and then he saw clearly that he had appeared next to Crouch.
He lowered his head and saw that he was standing in a circle!
“You succeeded… one success!”
Beside him, Crouch’s eyes widened. Although his tone was still dry, the two small mustaches trembling on his upper lip revealed his shock.
Vaughn was in no mood to care about his thoughts.
While he was happy about successfully Apparating, he was more worried about any other unexpected issues. He quickly lowered his head to check his body and asked, “Barty, did I split? Or anything else?”
Crouch quickly checked: “…all limbs are present, no obvious bloodstains… oh, one shoe is missing…”
The two checked for a while longer and found that during this Apparition, Vaughn had lost one shoe, one button, and a small piece of fingernail.
The fingernail was found where he had stood before, but the shoe and button were nowhere to be found.
Crouch said in his dry voice, like a wrung-out rag, “This is very normal. In fact, your performance has exceeded my expectations… 99% of wizards are not successful on their first try at Apparition.”
“Most of them failed, standing stupidly in place until they spun themselves dizzy and stumbled to the ground. A small portion were even worse. I still remember Amelia’s first time, one arm flew directly into the crowd… I had just started working then, and the Ministry sent me to Hogwarts to proctor!”
He thought Vaughn was sulking.
In reality, Vaughn was thinking about where his shoe and button had gone.
As for this question, Crouch said he didn’t know either.
“Perhaps no one in the entire wizarding world knows. This is also the most terrifying aspect of Apparition errors and splitting accidents—no one knows where your thigh or arm landed. The ideal situation is that it’s still in its original place.”
Vaughn frowned, “Has no one tried to solve this problem?”
“There’s no way to solve it,” Crouch explained. “There are no patterns to this. For example, you just Apparated a distance of more than three meters, but your shoe and button might end up five miles, ten miles away, or directly in the sea… anywhere is possible!”
He shrugged, “So, all along, the Ministry has taught Apparition at Hogwarts, where there is the most powerful anti-Apparition spell in the world, and it can also be partially lifted.”
“Usually, the Ministry would select an empty classroom at Hogwarts and temporarily lift its restrictions, so that when young wizards practice Apparition inside, even if they split, their bodies will not appear outside the classroom—because the space outside the classroom is locked.”
Listening to Crouch, Vaughn found that he had another area of interest.
For example, what is the principle of Apparition?
Or, more deeply, what exactly is space in this world?
As he understood more about magic, Vaughn found that the unknown he encountered also increased. More accurately, the magical system of this world itself was like a huge black box.
There was no principle in learning and using magic; everyone just knew that by chanting spells, invoking emotions and magic power, they could do it, and thus they could do it…
“What a whimsical world…”
Vaughn sighed inwardly and temporarily put aside his curiosity; that wasn’t something to think about now.
Next, under Crouch’s supervision, Vaughn continued to learn.
There were a few times when he failed, and Vaughn found his emotions fluctuating—long-term concentration was too draining, and fluctuations were inevitable—so he decisively withdrew his magic power.
Other times, he succeeded, with no splitting accidents occurring throughout.
Even the items he carried were not lost again. This speed of progress deeply shocked Crouch.
This shock was not due to Vaughn’s learning ability; he had seen many geniuses in his life, and his son, Barty Jr., was a genius.
What Crouch found shocking was Vaughn’s self-control and temperament. In terms of spell difficulty, Apparition was not actually difficult; its difficulty lay only in “composure”—stable and consistent composure, and maintaining emotions and magic power for a long time, was extremely draining.
Normally, a wizard who had just started learning Apparition would have the highest efficiency in the first few attempts.
This was because their mental state was best at this time.
Afterward, as mental energy was consumed, attention inevitably decreased, distractions and fatigue occurred, and efficiency began to drop significantly. Many splitting accidents occurred at this time.
But for the entire night, until dawn, when the two finished practicing and left, Crouch did not detect any sign of Vaughn reaching his limit.
He even made progress with every practice.
“Monster…”
Crouch quietly gave him this evaluation in his heart.
To his relief, Vaughn was not strong in all aspects. In the following days, as he gradually mastered Apparition, Vaughn began to try the Fiendfyre curse, which he had known about before but had never practiced due to its danger.
Then, his practice efficiency rapidly declined.
Five days later, in the early morning, on the same secluded, flat lawn, Vaughn uttered the Fiendfyre curse. His wand movements, magic power, and emotions were all impeccable.
But as the spell was completed, only a few sparks shot out from the tip of his wand…
A slight smile curved Crouch’s lips, as he tried not to appear too gloating.
Vaughn flicked his wand again, but the Fiendfyre, which was said to burn anything, did not form at the tip of his wand, and the few sparks quickly dissipated.
However, his mood was good, and he just rolled his eyes at Crouch, “Laugh if you want to!”
He then ignored him.
“System!”
Vaughn silently called up the system panel:
【 Host: Vaughn Weasley】
【 Magic Power Scale: 463 (Normal adult wizard is 500)】
【 Talents: Charms Mastery 7, Dark Arts 6, Transfiguration 8, Potions Mastery 10, Herbology Mastery 6, Divination Mastery 2 (Max is 10)】
【 Spells: Legilimency LV5(MAX), Full Body-Bind Curse LV5(MAX), Disarming Charm LV5(MAX), Evanesco LV4（11/16）, Levitation Charm LV4（10/16）… Protego Totalum LV3(1/32), Disillusionment Charm LV2（4/8）, Sectumsempra LV2（4/12）, Shattering Curse LV2（0/8）, Vanishing Spell LV2（0/12）… New: Apparition LV0（2/3）】
【 Potions: “Vaughn’s Beauty” series, Wolfsbane Potion, etc…】
【 Reputation Points: 0 points】
Looking at his talents, Vaughn pondered:
“Dark Arts talent 6. This number is even worse than I expected. It seems that 6 to 7 is a watershed. If a score of 7 is considered excellent, then 6 is at most slightly above passing. In terms of learning magic, there is a huge difference!”
Of course, Vaughn’s good mood was because, according to his agreement with Dumbledore, if Old Dumbledore stopped shamelessly adding points for Gryffindor, he would likely complete the main quest by the end of the semester and receive a talent point.
At that time, he could choose to upgrade his Charms talent or his Dark Arts talent.
That was his confidence.
Moreover, based on his current needs, Dark Arts was not urgent.
Temporarily putting aside his focus on talents, Vaughn scanned his spells, a densely packed list.
In the past month, he had not relaxed his practice of spells. Except for a few spells, most had improved, although some had clearly started to slow down.
For example, Evanesco and Levitation Charm, which had reached LV4, had not shown any progress in the past half month.
Vaughn couldn’t spend his precious Reputation Points on them either.
Fortunately, these spells were sufficient for now.
“Hmm? Magic Power Scale… Last month when I looked, my Magic Power Scale was still 456. With the normal growth rate of 6 points per month, it should be 462 now. Why is there an extra point…”
Thinking this, Vaughn’s gaze inadvertently swept over his sleeve and saw his wrist exposed, and he suddenly realized:
“I’m starting to develop…”
He had guessed before that the growth of magic power should be related to talent and the developmental cycle of the body, but due to a lack of samples and statistical data (others didn’t have a system and couldn’t quantify it), it was difficult to accurately calculate its growth trend.
Now, the change in his Magic Power Scale undoubtedly confirmed Vaughn’s guess.
“I’ll be 12 next month. Calculating the time, it is indeed the stage of rapid development… A person’s life undergoes the greatest changes at this stage. According to Muggle biology, various hormones such as growth hormones and target gland hormones, which are close to dormancy from birth, begin to activate in pulses from this stage…”
“The growth of bones, muscles, and internal organs is just an external manifestation. The essence of puberty is the activation of internal hormones. Is the growth of magic power also related to them?”
Vaughn’s interest was piqued.
Although magic power is unobservable, every wizard can sense it. It determines the power of a wizard’s spells and the number of times they can cast spells. It is the energy source of the magical system.
If someone could crack its secret or summarize its growth patterns, then they would have the most convenient path to power.
The reason for saying this is not because of how powerful magic power is after it increases, but because it is most likely to grow explosively.
This involves a special phenomenon that every young wizard in this world experiences before the age of 10—Magic Awakening, or Magic Surge!
Before this special phenomenon occurs, young wizards have no magical ability; at that time, they are no different from Muggles or Squibs.
Only after experiencing Magic Awakening do the extraordinary and the ordinary, wizards and Muggles, draw a clear line.
From a biological perspective, Magic Awakening is like the evolution of life’s essence and level!
Generally speaking, each young wizard will only experience one Magic Awakening. It is this one that helps them escape their original life stage, and even subsequent magic power growth is merely the “afterglow” of that awakening!
If… a person could experience multiple Magic Awakenings…
The alluring thought flashed in his mind, and Vaughn quickly opened his satchel, took out his notebook, and recorded his thoughts.
Crouch’s expression was a bit strange. He saw Vaughn spaced out for a moment (looking at the system panel) and then suddenly pull out a notebook and write frantically with an excited expression.
He couldn’t help but worry if this confident and proud child would be too discouraged and have some mental issues?
Fortunately, his worries did not come true.
Crouch only saw that after Vaughn recorded something in his notebook, his mood suddenly became very good. He remained smiling until dawn when they finished practicing.
And today seemed to be his lucky day as well.
In the afternoon, Vaughn, who was searching for Barty Crouch’s memory in the basement, was called out by Crouch, who handed him an invitation.
“The Wizengamot has initiated the voting procedure and decided to hold a resolution vote tonight. Amelia Bones asked me to give this to you. You must attend tonight as well.”
Vaughn took it, flipped through it a few times, and put it away, casually asking, “Did you vote yes or no?”
Crouch’s face was stern, “Do I have a choice?”
“Tsk, cheer up. We are partners. The establishment of the Werewolf Affairs Committee will only benefit you and not harm you. Barty, are you really willing to spend the rest of your life just getting by in the Department of International Magical Cooperation?”
“Are you really willing to be suppressed by a fool like Fudge? He’s not broad-minded. You see, he dared to kick you to the Cooperation Department last year. Maybe in another two years, he’ll dare to make you retire!”
Vaughn wanted to pat Crouch’s shoulder but found he couldn’t reach, so he patted his arm and coaxed him.
Crouch’s face twitched, and he said dryly, “My current life is not bad…”
“But I am very dissatisfied, Barty!” Vaughn’s expression became a smile that was not a smile. “As partners, I think it would be more in my interest for you to become the Minister for Magic in the future. Don’t you agree?”
Crouch remained silent.
Vaughn didn’t force him and resumed his smiling demeanor. “You need to be more proactive, Barty. The votes today were all sent by owl, right? You need to leverage your connections and ask your old friends if they accidentally sent the wrong vote, ask them to re-send it. I don’t think Amelia would mind!”
Crouch: “…You are truly shameless…”
“Thank you for the compliment. This is a necessary quality for politics!”
…
Ministry of Magic, Minister’s Office.
Umbridge rushed in breathlessly, and the esteemed Minister Fudge was forcefully downing a glass of sherry.
Seeing his state, Umbridge quickly slowed down her movements, lest the displeased Minister take it out on her.
“Esteemed Minister, I have inquired. The Wizengamot will vote on the resolution tonight. The owls carrying the votes have already arrived at the Ministry one after another.”
Fudge took another drink of sherry. Although the alcohol content was not high, he was already a little drunk.
He said with a cold laugh, “What other bad news is there? Tell me all at once!”
Umbridge was silent for a moment before saying tactfully, “I heard that Dumbledore, who hasn’t appeared recently, has been frequently visiting Wizengamot members since yesterday.”
“Amelia Bones has written to at least 10 wizards, and… and Barty Crouch…”
She paused, and Fudge, who was drinking, immediately glared at her with cold eyes that seemed to contain flames.
She quickly said, “Barty Crouch left for a while. After returning, he publicly declared that some of his old friends had sent the wrong votes and requested Amelia to re-examine them… Amelia agreed…”
Bang!
A wine glass shattered at her feet, startling her into covering her mouth. She heard the esteemed Minister Fudge cursing loudly, “That bitch! And Crouch, that old dog! Do you see, Umbridge? They are so arrogant now they want to piss on me… Old dog! I should have finished him completely last year!”
It wasn’t that Fudge hadn’t made any efforts.
He cursed Dumbledore, Amelia, and Barty Crouch for being arrogant, but in the days after the inquiry, he also contacted representatives of Pure-blood families within the Wizengamot frequently and without concealment.
The outside world thought his counterattack would likely come after the establishment of the Werewolf Affairs Committee.
In fact, those people didn’t understand politics well; Fudge didn’t want the Werewolf Affairs Committee to be established smoothly at all.
This had nothing to do with personal likes or dislikes; it was that the institution, from concept to reality, was a provocation to his authority.
The most correct approach was to prevent the Werewolf Affairs Committee from ever having the chance to be established, to crush it directly, thereby maintaining his dignity and his position.
Unfortunately, Fudge could not do that.
Fudge had ascended to the high position of Minister for Magic through a vote by the Wizengamot, and it was the Wizengamot that granted him the legitimacy of the highest authority in the wizarding world.
Any Minister for Magic, including himself, who dared to negate the Wizengamot would be negating the legitimate nature of his own power.
If it really came to that point, the Wizengamot would be fine, but it was hard to say what would happen to the Minister, who would lose the protection of magical law.
Therefore, Fudge could only play a game of yarn within the rules.
According to the original development, Fudge felt he still had some hope. Dumbledore, no matter how powerful, could only inspire fear, not obedience.
As far as he knew, among the more than 50 seats in the Wizengamot, only about a dozen wizards, such as Amelia and Mrs. Marchbanks, were staunch supporters of Dumbledore and would unconditionally support him.
The rest were considered neutral parties. In politics, they had no unified demands, and their stances and starting points were different, making them targets that anyone could try to win over.
During the inquiry meeting, Vaughn attended the entire session and patiently answered questions, precisely to win the votes of these neutral parties.
It was precisely because Fudge noticed this that he visited frequently after the inquiry meeting, wanting to win them over to his side and turn the tide in the final resolution.
Originally, his progress was going quite smoothly…
“The day before yesterday, Alred Travers secretly wrote me a letter. He told me that Fudge was contacting Pure-blood families, trying to get them to vote against it. Many families were wavering…”
In the evening, Vaughn and Crouch arrived at the Ministry of Magic, waiting for the Wizengamot’s vote.
Amelia said to Vaughn upon seeing him.
She was still a little displeased, “I wanted to contact you and Dumbledore then, but neither of you could be reached. It wasn’t until today that I learned Dumbledore had quietly visited his ‘old friends’, and you, with the strong support of Mr. Crouch—if Barty hadn’t told me you were with him, I wouldn’t have known!”
Her displeasure was naturally because neither of them had consulted her.
“Sorry, Amelia,” Vaughn said calmly and confidently, fabricating a story. “Actually, I’ve been staying at Mr. Crouch’s place these past few days, pestering him, and it was only today that I finally persuaded him. I really didn’t have time to inform you…”
Crouch, standing beside him, twitched his cheek. He almost couldn’t help but expose him—where was the pestering? Vaughn had clearly taken his cooperation for granted. He hadn’t mentioned anything about it all these days, making him rush to write letters to the Pure-blood families this afternoon.
But it was clear that Amelia believed him.
Her expression softened, until Vaughn maliciously brought up Dumbledore, “…As for Dumbledore, he definitely forgot about you. Look, he didn’t even use a Patronus to send a message…”
Amelia took a deep breath and couldn’t help but look aside.
The air rippled a few times there, and a white-bearded Dumbledore appeared, looking at Vaughn with a smile.
This was undoubtedly an awkward situation.
But Vaughn’s expression remained unchanged, and his voice did not falter in the slightest, “…But I believe that as soon as Dumbledore’s senile mind clears up, he will definitely notify you personally. Albus, am I wrong?”
“My dear, you know me so well.”
“Not at all, not at all. Have you been wandering around in the wilderness recently? Last time, the professor mentioned to me that you might die out there one day. Rather than not finding you when that happens, it’s better to give you a bottle of poison now. He’s been holding back his temper every day, so you must be careful!”
“Alas, Severus just can’t let go of some past trivial matters. Unlike me, even if someone slanders me to my face, I just smile and don’t take it to heart. At most, I’ll hold a grudge for a while.”
Their meeting was a battle of wits and smiles that hid daggers.
This peculiar way of interacting surprised Amelia and Crouch.
Although everyone knew that Dumbledore supported Vaughn, in their minds, their relationship should have been more like that of an elder and a junior, or rather, Vaughn should have been subservient to Dumbledore.
But now, it seemed their interaction was very equal!
Vaughn and Dumbledore exchanged a few “friendly” words equally. It was getting late, and Amelia took her leave; she still had to set up the venue.
Today, not all Wizengamot members had to attend; only about a dozen would likely show up.
But because a new institution might be established, almost all departments of the Ministry would send one or two representatives to observe the voting result.
This included wizarding residents who were willing to come, media reporters, and so on.
Amelia had to tally the votes and count them, so her work was not easy.
After she left, Crouch quickly found an excuse to leave as well. He was feeling guilty and didn’t dare to face Dumbledore in person.
As expected, as soon as Crouch’s back disappeared outside the door, Dumbledore shifted his gaze to Vaughn. “Barty’s level of support for you has exceeded many people’s expectations. Everyone is very curious why he would reconnect with his old contacts for your sake. Before today, he hadn’t contacted some Pure-blood families for a long time.”
During the inquiry meeting, Vaughn, who often visited Amelia’s office to play, familiarly found a drink, took a sip, and said, “We have an agreement, mutual trust!”
“Of course, I’m not trying to question you,” Dumbledore smiled. “I just suddenly remembered that a few years ago, Barty asked me for advice, asking if Memory Magic could reverse someone corrupted by Dark Arts.”
“Oh, a very interesting idea. How did you answer him?”
“I told him it was impossible!”
Dumbledore looked at Vaughn, his sapphire-blue eyes filled with mystery. “The influence of Dark Arts is irreversible; it only accumulates. Even I can only rely on Memory Magic to try my best to weaken the corruption caused by each use of Dark Arts and delay its effects.”
Vaughn was noncommittal, “Nothing in the world is absolute, Albus!”
